This episode of Dinner Impossible took place at the Philadelphia Zoo. The Zoo was celebrating its 150th anniversary and Robert had to prepare a dinner for 500 guests in 9 hours. Not only is there the time constraint, but he had to create the dishes based on the diets of the four largest zoo species. Reptiles, birds, big cats and primates.  Robert had an outdoor kitchen and three staff members of the zoo to help him out. Dinner would be served in the main areas for each species.

The diets for each group is:

• Big cats: ground beef, beef steaks, chicken, beef liver, rabbit and buffalo/bison
• Primates: nothing cooked… fruit, vegetables and greens
• Reptiles:  clams, ducks, crabs, crayfish, crickets
• Birds: beef, smelt, trout, quail, chicken, fruits

The group goes through each group and comes up with around 20 dishes to serve. They head off to shop with around 8 hours left. But it’s not a typical grocery store… it’s a Sysco warehouse that’s huge. Back to the zoo and they can’t get in. Only 5+ hours left.

Once they start cooking you’re able to see how much food it takes to feed 500 people. A lot! While is looks hectic, I think this type of cooking in really large quantities in a short amount of time would be fun.  I think the most important thing to watch for, as Robert points out, is the possible cross contamination. Beef next to chicken, uncooked meats next to raw vegetables, etc. Get beyond this and it’ll be OK. Maybe not the best tasting, but at least safe to eat.

After the expected hiccups that would occur when you’re cooking huge amounts of food for 500 people, the food starts moving to the 4 locations for serving.  Robert claims mission accomplished with the clock showing just seconds left in his 9 hour allotted time. All the guests seem to enjoy the food with a few being surprised it tastes good since so much of it had to be cooked.  And of course, all of the final shots of the food look perfect.