Thank you for jamming with us!
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Last week, Pargo rallied their partnered pioneers to celebrate a massively successful year. Hosted by Food Jams in Salt River, dining proved to be only half the fun as the troop of corporate trailblazers shared laughs, traded ingredients and indulged in meals never cooked before.
Pargo has seen many triumphs this year, from winning coveted awards, to extending their network of Pick-up Points across Southern Africa. Food Jams was the ultimate year-end party that commemorated the eCommerce giants that have journeyed alongside the leaders in Click and Collect.
Each group was given a funky name with an even funkier recipe. From beef Wellington to chocolate fondant, the food-centric event saw the business boffins flex their cooking skills.
Each group was accompanied by a Pargo employee. Here’s what the Pargo representatives had to share on their team’s triumphs:
Team Puff Daddy (aka: P.Diddy, Puffy or Diddy)
Pargo’s senior business development manager Bianca Uys supervised her team in preparing gluten-free chocolate fondants, coconut fruit crumble and homemade ice cream.
How Team Puff Daddy fared:Much like the music mogul himself, Team Puff Daddy showcased their talents in making and baking the sweetest desserts. Producing homemade spicy ice cream, a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate fondant, and a guava-stuffed fruit crumble, Team Puff Daddy left no dessert stone unturned.
“Scott from Hello Pretty was in charge of hollowing out the guavas for the amazing stuffed fruit crumble, Megan from Faithful to Nature gave a quick lesson on gluten free vs not gluten free i.e. flour vs coconut flour, and Clifford from Skills Academy brought the spicy milk to a boil for the spicy ice cream – all of this while we were sipping on some champers! What a night. What a team,” relayed Bianca on Team Puff Daddy’s cooking spree.
Moments worth a chuckle
“Even though Food Jams provided everything, Clifford, the newly crowned King of homemade ice cream, brought his own apron and salt & pepper to the event – his enthusiasm was off the charts! It was definitely a laugh riot,” recounted Bianca.
Team La Bamba
Co-founder of Pargo Derk Hoekert and his team successfully managed to cook fire-roasted lamb ribs & cauliflower, focaccia & baby potatoes, truffle mayo, and a super ‘sexy’ salad.
How Team La Bamba fared:
Reading the recipe to create a super salad, Derk threw the playbook straight out of the window to spice things up in true trailblazing fashion. Now referred to as the “sexy salad”, Team La Bamba stirred the pot in livening up their prescribed recipes. Roy from Cape Union Mart took the reigns in handling all bread-related businesses, Christiaan from HomeChoice was right at home basing and cooking the lamb to perfection, and Alex from Clicks was the potato salad connoisseur.
“We performed like an efficient last mile cooking machine. Every team member had their own dish. So all for one, one for all,” said Derk when asked about Team La Bamba’s journey.
Moments worth a chuckle
Team La Bamba decided to use the smoke alarm as a timer – all with the help of their fiery yellow pepper.
Team Bob Marley
As the head of marketing at Pargo, Michaela Gabriel contributed her know-how of all things health. From vegetarian Samosas to a veggie-styled Cape Malay Curry, Team Bob Marley served wholesome, health-centric dishes.
How Team Bob Marley fared:
Intricate folding techniques, scintillating sauce medleys, and two whole missed dishes, Team Bob Marley, attested to the King of Reggae’s lyrics “We hope you like jammin’ too”.
Emma from Skoon enjoyed trading healthy eating hacks while Sandile from Brights embraced true DIY energy by sprucing up his sauce with secret spices. Michele from Wellness Warehouse was the sleuth who discovered the two missing dishes and quickly adjusted her Chef’s hat to get her team back on track.
After a hyper-focused session in learning and relearning how to fold Samosas, Michaela’s sixth sense has been aligned to constructing the perfect Samosa. “I now have neuro-pathways for making Samosas,” relayed Michaela.
Moments worth a chuckle
Learning how to fold the Samosas as intricately as possible. “We definitely had to call the Food Jams facilitators back a few times to teach us the delicate folding technique,” expressed Michaela.
Team Jackie Chan
Sales director for Pargo, Steven Jowell facilitated Team Jackie Chan in creating a super serving of stuffed mushrooms, magic meatballs, and a mouth-watering monkey gland sauce.
How Team Jackie Chan fared:
Readied with red wine in hand, Team Jackie Chan performed swimmingly – producing all required dishes with finesse. “Under the careful guidance and role modelling of head chef Trusha from SPCC brand, our team was inspired to perform at a production level fit for Jamie Oliver. The fine drinks ensured a well-oiled machine too,” said Steven of the team’s effort.
Brandon from TFG took the title ‘King of the glaze’ with his tasty monkey gland sauce. Jayson from HomeChoice worked wondrously as the “chief garlic crusher & carrot stick-maker,” relayed Steven. “I took great pride in my ultra-fine chopping and consistent barman etiquette.”
Moment’s worth a chuckle
“The mielies were saved from a certain smokey death after they were forgotten on the coals. Yeah and we even forgot to add them to the salad,” expressed Steven.
Team Queen
Pargo’s co-founder Lars Veul trekked with Team Queen into uncharted territories – browning delectable beef Wellingtons for the masses.
How Team Queen fared:
Wanting to break free from the confines of the rigid recipe, Team Queen rocked Food Jams with Keith from Woolworths who contributed a multitude of culinary tips and tricks. Andrea from TFG was Team Queen’s bona fide sous chef who invigilated all veggie-related tasks.
Inge from Clicks held the team together as any professional pastry chef would! Allen from eComplete was Team Queen’s resident “gees” leader and dedicated his efforts to cutting mushrooms – making sure the show went on.
Moments worth a chuckle
“Definitely wrapping the pastry around the beef. Let’s just say lopsided was the name of our wrapping game! It came out delicious in the end so I guess we’re the real winners,” expressed Lars.
Team Snoop Dogg
Team Snoop Dogg was joined by Pargo’s product and project manager Peter de Beer. Concocting a delicious stuffed sweet-pepper chicken roulade & roasted squash, alongside a chickpea salad, Team Snoop Dogg served a tantalizing dish for all.
How Team Snoop Dogg fared:
From coal-cooked chicken to finely flipped and roasted mielies, Team Snoop Dogg kept the venue smokey! “Everyone just picked up tasks that spoke to their skills. Mine was to delegate. Carel was our mielies master, Charmaine and Porchia did an excellent job at stuffing the chicken. It was all very ‘Master Chef’ with the goal of completing the meals assigned to us being edible!” said Peter.
Moments worth a chuckle
“My inability to persistently dissuade the members of my team to ditch the butternut. Who eats butternut?” relayed Peter.
Team Mamma Mia
Noted as the “best dish”, Mamma Mia cooked from scratch a hearty Italian pasta meal, ravioli, miso glazed fish, and a saucy side of pesto!
How Team Mamma Mia fared:
Team Mamma Mia filled the kitchen with bellowing sounds of success as they celebrated every task completed. From cutting the pasta, to stuffing the ravioli pockets, Team Mamma Mia made sure to showcase their team spirit! “Our team worked very well together. There was a sense of pride from the get go and we made sure there was a cheer of celebration every 10 minutes to keep the cooking spirits going,” expressed Michelle, Pargo’s senior business development manager.
Chris and Stephanie from Puma made their team’s delicious pasta from scratch while Matthew from eComplete kept his team on top of tasks while cooking the tender salmon. Jacques from Cape Union Mart became the sorcerer of sauces conjuring three different relishes for all the meals prepared by his team.
“I assisted here and there but mostly made noise and kept the spirits up,” relayed Michelle.
Moments worth a chuckle
“The one funny moment was when the competition really started to heat up between teams… We may or may not have tried to sabotage Team Queen’s mushrooms by switching off the stove. I guess we’ll never know…” expressed Michelle.
