Seize the prawn! Where business deals get made today. (Recipe: Prawns Saganaki)

The more things change, the more they stay the same… Plato was onto something when he said: “you can learn more about a [person] in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

When I was a kid, I used to caddy on the golf course for my dad and his mates. I learned how deals got made – get a few key people together in a structured activity that has its own process and outcomes but doesn’t require 100% concentration, then while you’ve got the ear of the person who makes the decision or can get you what you want, you’ve got plenty of time to build a personal connection and make your pitch. If you’re really canny, you just might play to rank a bit below theirs so you earned another kind of ‘points’.

As golf club memberships decline, and people are more pressed for time, and business people include an ever more diverse bunch, more of whom don’t play golf … Where do deals get made?

“Corporate Cookery” is the new golf course, flexible, scalable, accessible and a great way to connect people. Many of our hands-on cooking and interactive catering events are focused on professional networking, client entertaining and corporate hospitality. The bonding, team building benefits of our cooking events accrue to any relationship. Plus they can have other benefits if you seize the opportunities that stand before you.

For example, “peeling the prawns” can be a great benefit to your business and career goals. Here you have a few key people standing around peeling a large number of prawns… I don’t often have to remind them “deals can be made”. How often do you get the CEO’s ear, or to connect with your project manager outside the confines of the office? Seize the day! Or in this case, “seize the prawn”.

Opportunities are constantly around us; if you recognise them, you can choose to take advantage of them or not. So the modern golf course can be anywhere really, any place where communal engagement is taking place. But when it comes to VictorsFood hands-on cooking events, whether for team building or client entertaining, peeling the prawns is the new golf course, plus you get to eat the rewards

Prawns Saganaki

Ingredients
30 large green prawns
150 gm Greek feta cheese, crumbled
1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
4 large juicy tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, taken off the stalk
75 ml Ouzo
60 ml olive oil
salt & freshly ground pepper
½ tsp chilli flakes or fresh chilli

Method

1. Peel the prawns.
2. Grate the tomatoes.
3. Over a high heat, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan.
4. Add the spring onion and thyme and sweat for 1-2 minutes. (Add chilli if using).
5. Add the prawns and garlic, lightly sear on both sides.
6. Add the Ouzo; tip the pan towards the flame and flambé. (NB: Hold your arm out straight and don’t look over the pan!).
7. When flames have died down, add the grated tomatoes and lower the heat to medium.
8. Add the crumbled feta, salt, pepper and bubble just till the feta melts.
9. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Note: This dish can be eaten hot or allowed to cool slightly so that it can be eaten by hand with crusty bread to dip into the sauce.

Serves 8-10 as part of a banquet