Here at Spoon Michigan, we take competition and food very seriously. So, we decided to have the editorial team and the marketing team go head-to-head in a Chopped cooking competition featuring KIND products.
Each team was given a box with five mystery ingredients and thirty minutes to make their best dish, and as one of the competitors, l'd say it was probably the second most heated event at the University of Michigan this year (just behind the Michigan versus Ohio State football game).
The Secret Ingredients
When we opened our baskets, we found a sweet potato, molasses, plain yogurt, a banana, and a KIND Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Healthy Grains Bar. Both teams immediately started working on incorporating those ingredients into a delicious dish.
The Final Dishes
Marketing team's "Torte de Kind."
Editorial team's "Deconstructed Fall Bowl."
The marketing team started off with the idea of a chocolate truffle, but had some issues with timing and freezing. They ended up with what they called a "Torte de Kind," which consisted of a chocolate torte made up of chocolate, sweet potato, yogurt, molasses, bits of the KIND bar, and banana. On the side, they had a peanut butter sauce, a chocolate sauce, and an apple for a garnish.
The editorial team followed the latest bowl trend and took a new spin on it, creating a "Deconstructed Fall Bowl." It consisted of the sweet potato, banana, molasses, and fall spices. On the side, there were KIND bar crumbles, a peanut butter-yogurt sauce, and chocolate covered bananas. Both were very creative and visually appealing dishes, if you ask me.
The Judge
To judge this fierce competition, we had Chef Raúl Cob, the new chef at Aventura in Ann Arbor. He is known for his bomb paella. In fact, his paella has been ranked as one of the best, and he is considered one of the best chefs in Spain. If you haven't gone to Aventura yet to try his food, you need to get there asap.
The Winners
And the winner was... the editorial team! Chef Raúl Cob enjoyed both dishes, but he thought the chocolate was a little overpowering in the Torte de Kind and thought the sweet potato mash was delicious in the Deconstructed Fall Bowl.
The winners received a ton of KIND products, including Caramel Almond and Sea Salt KIND bars, Dark Chocolate Nuts and Sea Salt KIND bars, and Raspberry Cashew Chia KIND bars. Plus, they got to brag to the whole Spoon Michigan chapter about their delicious dish. It was a very successful event and a great way to put our foodie knowledge to the test. The best part? I now have KIND bars for days.