pick, plan, plate
A Culinary Challenge of Strategy, Speed & Serious Flavor
Bring your creativity and your competitive spirit! Pick, Plan, Plate is no ordinary cooking experience. In this high-energy team competition, you’ll be tasked with building a bold, flavor-packed dish inspired by a surprise culinary theme. With limited time and a curated mix of ingredients at your fingertips, the pressure is on to make something extraordinary.
Your team’s journey begins with a quickfire mini-challenge designed to sharpen your skills and kick things into high gear. From there, you’ll rotate through ingredient stations tied to the day’s theme, making strategic picks to shape your dish. Then comes the twist: a mystery basket of ingredients that will challenge you to think fast and cook even faster.
Once the cooking starts, it’s a race to plan, plate, and perfect your creation before time runs out. With blind judging and a chance to taste and rate each other’s dishes, every round ends with flavor, fun, and a few surprises.
Whether you’re battling it out in a burger showdown, a taco twist-off, or something entirely unexpected, Pick, Plan, Plate is all about teamwork, timing, and taste.
more about pick, plan, plate
A Culinary Challenge of Strategy, Speed & Serious Flavor
Welcome to Pick, Plan, Plate, a hands-on, high-energy culinary competition where collaboration and creativity take center stage. In this team-based challenge, you’ll work together to create a standout dish based on a surprise culinary theme. You’ll have access to a limited pantry, theme-specific ingredient stations, and a curated basket of mystery ingredients to truly test your culinary instincts.
Getting Started
Guests will be greeted with light snacks and soft drinks before diving into the action. To start, you’ll draw knives to determine your teammates; then it’s time to turn up the heat!
Warm-Up Challenge
Teams will face one of two quickfire mini challenges designed to get your head in the game:
The Taste Trial – a blind tasting challenge to test your palate and precision
Mise en Place Mayhem – a fast-paced culinary skills challenge that also preps a key component for your final dish
This challenge ties into the day’s theme and sets the tone for the main event.
Ingredient Selection
Next, teams will rotate through four curated ingredient stations that reflect the day’s culinary theme. Each station offers a category of ingredients — for example, in a burger-themed challenge, the stations might include:
Station 1: Patty Central: Start with the heart of the burger.
Station 2: Cheese the Moment: Melt it, crumble it, love it.
Station 3: The Bun Run: Pick your base, build your bite.
Station 4: Top It Off: All the extras you crave.
Your team will strategically choose your primary ingredients from these stations.
Then, each team will receive a curated mystery basket of additional ingredients to incorporate into their dish, along with access to a limited pantry to round out their creation.
The Main Event
With ingredients in hand, you’ll have time to:
Plan and strategize your approach
Cook your dish using your selected components
Plate for presentation and judging
Judging & Peer Review
Your dish will be evaluated in a blind judging format by up to three judges, who will score based on:
Taste
Creativity
Use of ingredients
Presentation
Teamwork & Execution
After judging, you’ll get to taste the other teams’ creations and participate in a peer rating round to crown an audience favorite.
Kitchen Safety Reminder
Please come dressed for safety:
Wear closed-toe shoes
Long hair must be tied back
Pants or attire that fully covers your legs is required
Pick your ingredients. Plan your strategy. Plate your masterpiece.
Only one team will rise to the top — but every plate tells a story.
pick, plan, plate theme choices
Select from the following themes for your Pick, Plan, Plate challenge!
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One Shell. Endless Possibilities. Let the Taco Throwdown Begin.
Bring your boldest ideas to the tortilla in Taco 'Bout a Battle, a flavor-packed showdown where teams build next-level tacos from unexpected ingredients and daring combos. Whether soft or crunchy, spicy or sweet, every taco tells a story, and your team’s creation just might be the one that takes the crown. One challenge, many layers. Are you ready to taco 'bout it?
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The Ultimate Burger Build-Off
This is no backyard barbecue. Patty Royale is a high-stakes burger battle where every layer counts: from the patty to the bun, and every topping in between. Your team will create signature stacks that show off technique, creativity, and serious flavor chops. Bold builds, unexpected twists, and one towering winner. It’s burger brilliance, only bigger.
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A Global-Inspired Hand Pie Showdown
Get ready for a whirlwind of flavor in Empanada Escapade, where flaky crusts and inventive fillings take the spotlight. Teams will explore bold spices, sweet and savory combos, and fast-paced prep as they craft empanadas that are as gorgeous as they are delicious. One challenge. Endless directions. Only the tastiest pockets will prevail.
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Bold Flavors. Big Ideas. A Nacho Challenge Like No Other.
This isn't your average nacho night. In Nacho Average Showdown, you'll build over-the-top, showstopping nacho creations that push the limits of taste and presentation. Whether you're stacking high with heat or layering in unexpected flavor twists, it’s all about bold choices and team collaboration.
From the pantry to the plate, you’ll craft a shareable dish that’s as delicious as it is daring. With rotating ingredients and endless possibilities, no two teams will take the same path to crunchy, melty glory. Think you've got what it takes to be nacho champs?
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Rolled, Stuffed, and Ready for the Spotlight
In Wrap Battle, it’s all about the roll: and the role your ingredients play. Teams will create epic wraps that balance flavor, texture, and visual appeal. Whether you're folding up something global or going all-in on a handheld classic, this challenge pushes you to think fast, roll tight, and wrap with confidence. The flavor is in your hands.
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A Sizzle-Packed Cook-Off of Crispy, Crunchy Goodness
Ready to bring the heat? Grilled to Thrill is a high-stakes challenge where texture, timing, and taste are everything. Whether you're building epic grilled sandwiches, searing proteins to perfection, or inventing something entirely unexpected, the key is in the crust. Teams will fire up their creativity, and the grill, to deliver dishes that are golden, gooey, and gloriously grilled.
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Culinary Experiences are interactive cooking competitions designed for people who love to watch cooking competition shows, and have always wanted to try it for themselves.
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These experiences are designed for:
Friends and family gatherings
Visitors to Sonoma County
Locals looking for a group activity
Corporate or team-building groups
Wine club groups and special interest groups
No professional cooking experience required!
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Most experiences are designed for adults. There are three options to consider in designing your experience:
Adults over 18 only;
Mixed group of adults over 18 and teens aged 11-18;
Teen groups aged 11-18 only
We will work together to design the perfect experience for your group, regardless of age!
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No. Experiences are designed to be approachable and enjoyable for all skill levels. A little experience in the kitchen is helpful, but your group will work in teams, so you will likely have at least a few people with experience.
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Locations vary based on your group’s needs.
Small groups (6-12) can often use a standard size kitchen, either at your own home, or a rental property for visitors
Large groups (12-16), or those in need of a larger space, can use the Cooking for a Crowd kitchen
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Group sizes vary depending on the experience, but most events are designed for medium-sized groups. Since the experiences are competition based, the minimum group size is six people. Teams will be divided into groups of three or four, depending on group size. The maximum size is 16 people.
If you are interested in a larger experience, we can work together to provide it. (Our biggest group has been 50 people!)
If your group is smaller than six, contact us, and we can try to schedule two smaller groups together. The nature of the competition requires at least six people.
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Pricing includes:
All food & ingredients
At least two hosts, or more, depending on group size
Setup & cleanup related to the experience
Any additional costs (such as wine purchases or venue fees if needed) will be clearly stated and agreed upon in advance
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Pricing varies by experience and group size. Most experiences start at a per-person rate, with add on item pricing available upon request. Current pricing will always be listed on the experiences page.
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Yes! All experiences are private experiences!
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No. We are not licensed to provide alcoholic beverages, and you will be using knives!
Depending on location of the experience, you may be able to offer your own drinks following the competition, while you eat and judge each other.
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Yes, many dietary needs can be accommodated with advance notice, including vegetarian and gluten-free. Please share any restrictions when booking.
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Most experiences require nothing beyond comfortable clothing and a willingness to participate. Any specific requirements will be communicated in advance. If you have long hair, bring something to tie it back.
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We recommend booking at least 2–4 weeks in advance, especially for weekends and peak travel seasons.
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Cancellation policies will be clearly outlined at the time of your booking. Because food needs to be purchased in advance, experiences must be cancelled at least three days prior to the event, and may incur a cancellation penalty.
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Tipping is never required but is always appreciated if you feel the experience exceeded expectations.
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Experiences can be booked directly through our website. Fill out the contact form, and we will get back to you to determine group size, date & time, and help you choose the best combination of experiences to suit your group.
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Experiences are hosted by Cooking for a Crowd. Depending on the size of your group, you will have at least two people hosting. They will lead all activities, setup and cleanup related to the experience, and make sure you and your group have the best time possible!
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If you’re unsure which experience fits your group, reach out — we’re happy to help you choose or create something that works.
Frequently asked questions
schedule an experience
If you're interested in booking an experience with us, complete the form with a few details about your needs. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.