August 2025

When Chef Pham joined Freda’s Kitchen, she brought with her a vast amount of experience not only in the kitchen, but in creating and running corporate team building events!   One of her specialties is Iron Chef-Style events.

Many of you have probably watched the famous television show or many of a variety of spin offs.  Chefs have a limited amount of time to create an amazing menu, then be judged by a panel to determine who wins.  Sounds pretty intimidating, doesn’t it?

Not at Freda’s Kitchen!  Chef Pham and her team of Escoffier students know not only how to make it challenging, but fun and educational, too!

We just did this type of an event for a corporate client, and they were blown away by how much fun it was!    Let me explain how it worked.

Chef Pham broke the the group up into two teams.  Each team had a culinary student as a coach.  Once the teams came up with their team names, we were off to the kitchen!

Chef Pham had an array of ingredients on the trays.  Each team had to make a meal out of various vegetables, couscous, halibut, and pork tenderloin.  We gave them a variety of herbs and spices to use as they wished.  Then, we unveiled a secret ingredient that had to be used in the meal — okra!!

Each team had just 60 minutes to create a meal.   The game was on!

Teams scrambled to their stations and started strategizing.  Before long they had were busy at it, and the smells were incredible!  Coaches assisted by providing guidance and helping where needed. 

The 60 minutes flew by, but each team presented some gorgeous platters ready for Chef Pham’s critical taste buds.  Everyone sat down to eat their dishes, and, quite honestly, I think they impressed themselves!

Chef then announced the winners over a dessert she had made as a special treat for the group.  Everyone had a fantastic time, and shared with me that they had completely forgotten about the stresses of work during that time.   They were focused on teamwork and the tasks at hand.

The client had such a great time, they are considering another!

If you’d like us to host a corporate team building event, please contact us by filling out this form!

My favorite memories of going to Italy was seeing Nonna (grandma) in the kitchen, directing the work of her children in the proper techniques of authentic cuisine at my favorite restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. 

Enoteca Maria in Staten Island shares Freda’s Kitchen’s love for authentic, family cooking.  I will definitely have to go here the next time I’m in New York!

Read the full article here:   http://gothamist.com/2016/10/06/enoteca_maria_staten_island.php

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The weather is cooling down, so now it’s time to make some hearty Bolognese. This recipe comes from Chef Daniele, who hails from Florence, Italy.  Make plenty and freeze some for a cold winter’s day

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May’s Recipe of the Month — Sorrento Style Sauce with Fried Eggplant

We made this delicious sauce last week at the Hill Country Casita’s and it was absolutely delicious! Chef Daniele’s creation reminded me of my trip to the Amalfi Coast a couple years ago. It was light, flavorful, and so easy to make!  Buon Appetito!

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Gina is a marketing professional and freelance writer who’s worked for Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, Edible Austin magazine as well as the Texas Culinary Academy, now Le Cordon Bleu. She also assisted local author Angela Shelf Medearis in the promotion of her public television show as well as partnering with her to co-author a nationally syndicated recipe column. Gina grew up with a love of food and cooking in a culturally diverse family; from her Sicilian father to her Texas born mother whose farming family went back for several generations, to her lovely Mexican step-mother; all wonderful home cooks. A long-time resident of Austin, Gina is an avid gardener and keeps a year round vegetable garden. She’s found that growing food is yet another teacher when it comes to preparing meals from what is available and in season.

She mixes a love of family recipes with the freedom of creating something new, embodying what her mother taught her, which was ultimately to cook intuitively. She’s especially interested in the stories behind the food and she authors her own food and gardening blog at PeachesandProsciutto.com

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Many thanks to Rachel of Rachellately.com for the well-written blog post after joining one of our culinary experiences.  Rachel truly captured the spirit of Freda’s Kitchen and our love for authentic cuisines from around the world.  You can read the blog here.

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Strengthen your work team by competing against each other in an exciting Iron Chef style competition!  You’ll incorporate strategy, teamwork, problem solving, learning, and imagination while making some delicious food!

So how does it work?

• We’ll break you in to teams once you’ve settled in.
• You’ll be assigned a chef coach to give guidance.
• Executive Chef will introduce the rules and three dishes you will need to complete.  There will be a mystery ingredient, too!
• You’ll have 60 minutes to create and plate; it gets pretty intense, and teams can get pretty competitive!
• Everyone will present their dishes.  There may be some trash talk, but it’s always in good fun!
• While everyone is eating their creations, chef will taste the food, and we’ll serve up some dessert.
• We’ll announce the winners!

You can bring prizes for the winning teams, or ask us to order some for you (if you give us at least a month to order).  We can also create custom aprons with your company logo. 

Each Iron Chef style competition offers:

• Friendly competition and a chance for your teams to connect through food.
• Three courses made by your teams, with dessert prepared by our chef.
• Fully-customized menus, incorporating food restrictions.
• A number for pizza delivery on standby; although, we’ve never had to call!  The food turns out pretty good, and you’ll learn a few tricks in the process.

Events start at $1,650 for up to 10 people and $165 per additional person plus tax and gratuity.

We’ve been honored to create amazing experiences for these great companies, let us create one for you today!

Freda’s Kitchen offers experienced, interactive personal chefs and home cooks who have a passion for world cuisine and want to share their cultures with you.  

They will share recipes developed in home kitchens and restaurants around the world from Bombay to Tuscany.   You’ll cook, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh, you’ll EAT!

Book a private event with one of our chefs.

Executive Chef Uyen Pham – Asian Cuisines Chef Pham holds a Master’s degree in education and taught at the collegiate level for nearly a decade before pursuing her culinary career. She graduated at the top of her class from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and is currently an instructor at the CIA in San Antonio. Chef Pham was born in Saigon and specializes in Asian and European cuisine and has worked in some of NYC’s finest restaurants for Danny Meyer, Alfred Portale, Anita Lo, and Andrew Carmellini. She has been a judge for the Food Network’s show All Star Academy, and you may have seen her at the Austin Fermentation Festival. She was inducted into the Disciples of Escoffier and Les Dames d’Escoffier International.

Daniele Panella – Italian Cuisine Daniele has been cooking since he was a child, growing up in Florence, Italy.  From his first failed attempt to make tortellini at the tender age of 7, he followed in the footsteps of his father, who was the earliest and biggest influence in the kitchen. It was his passion in the kitchen that inspired Daniele to pursue and master many Italian classics.  Daniele began his career nearly a decade ago, offering cooking classes, private dinners and catering for events in Florence, Italy. Daniele recently moved to Austin, to continue where he left off in Italy, aiming to share his passion for Italy, it’s authentic Italian food and the truest Italian experience! Want to know more? Check out his website.

Fer Candil – Spanish Cuisine Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, she also lived in Cadiz (South Spain), and in Santiago de Compostela (North Spain). Fer began learning to cook customary Spanish food at an early age from her mother. She continues to use the same recipes that her family has transmitted orally from mother to daughter for generations. These recipes are being transferred to the new generation, especially now that her son has joined the family business, Paellas, Tapas, and More.

Strengthen your work team by cooking together in one of our team building cooking classes.  Culinary team building events incorporate strategy, teamwork, problem solving, learning, and imagination.

Your group will be led by one of our talented home cooks or chefs in a cultural exchange, developing new business skills, while taking a deep dive into a different culture through food.  After the hands-on experience, everyone will dine together, sharing the satisfaction of creating a new cuisine and discovering secrets to an unexplored culture.

Freda’s Kitchen has two memorable team building events for your team!

Small group culinary events for groups of 8 to 15

Iron Chef-Style Team Competitions for groups of 10+

Each event is unique to your company’s team goals and budget.  We can create simple events in a home kitchen or use one of our partner kitchens in the Austin area. 

Each event offers:

• Experienced ethnic chefs whose passion is connection through food.
• Fully-customized menus, incorporating food restrictions.
• A memorable experience that your team will talk about for a long time!

Here’s a sneak peak of the fun one group from France had after their unique cooking experience!

 Want to learn more?  Send us a message, and we’ll help you plan the perfect event!

We are thrilled that this prestigious magazine is sharing information about the fun corporate team building services we offer at Freda’s Kitchen! Did you know you can hire us to create fun, interactive, cooking events for executive teams, department outings, or small business bonding?  Learn more here!

Or, talk to us about bringing a group of your clients together so that they will they you are the coolest vendor they know!  Read the article here!

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Your group will be led by one of our talented home cooks or chefs in a cultural exchange, developing new skills, while taking a deep dive into a different culture through food. Perfect your Sushi, learn how to make Pho, dive into Paella, or cut your own hand-made pasta.

After the hands-on experience, everyone will dine together, sharing the satisfaction of creating a new cuisine and discovering secrets to an unexplored culture.

Each event is unique to your  goals and budget.  We can create simple events in a home kitchen or use one of our partner kitchens in the Austin area. 

This event is perfect for groups of 8-15. If you have a larger group, consider our fun Iron Chef style event competitions.

Each cooking experience offers:

• Intimate small group classes and hands-on learning.
• Authentic ethnic foods, taught by international chefs and home cooks who love to share their cuisines and stories. 
• Four courses of some of the best food you will ever eat!
• Fully-customized menus, incorporating food restrictions.
• Everyone takes home a recipe book so that you can recreate the magic at home!
• You don’t do any dishes or clean up your kitchen. We bring everything, including the cookware and groceries.  Your dishes will be loaded, and your kitchen will be spotless when we are done.
• We specialize in multi-generational cooking.  Kids are welcome!

Events start at $1150 for up to 10 people and $115 per additional person plus tax and gratuity.

Want to learn more?  Send us a message, and we’ll help you plan the perfect event!