Murder Mystery Notes
Minimum requirements – 9 guests(all willing to read a part) plus the hostess Give everyone nametags: OWN names (and add their character number on the tag)
(i) Products
Large Stoneware Bar Pan*, Baker’s Roller, Classic Batter Bowl*, 2 Small Batter Bowls, Egg Slicer Plus, 5” Forged Utility Knife* and honing tool, Food Chopper*, any 2 Cutting Boards*, Rotary Grater, Small Mix N Scraper*, Measure-All Cup*, Saute Pan Executive Cookware*, Ultimate Mandoline*, A bowl for the chips (bamboo, simple additions, chip & dip, bowl from salad spinner, etc…), a second bowl or square can be used for lettuce, otherwise just place on paper plate, Small Caddy with two small square bowls* (for salsa and sour cream. If you have a 3rdsmall square bowl you can use it for the guacamole or serve it in the small batter bowl), AdjustableMeasuring Spoons*, Bamboo Spoons, Garlic Press*, Can Opener, Can Strainer, 2 Prep bowls*, Mix and Chop OR Salad Chopper, Handy Scrapers, Stackable Cooling Rack*, Pizza Cutter*, Mini Serving Spatula*, Core & More, Citrus Press, Professional Shears, Family Sized Quickstir Pitcher (if doing margaritas), & Southwest Seasoning Mix (can be omitted if you don’t have it).
* items are in the Super Starter Kit. Feel free to improvise as necessary.
Other Items Needed
Name Tags, Catalogs, Order Forms, Pens, Door Prize Slips, Your Master Script, Envelopes Set up with 9 Guest Scripts. You may also want a Door Prize (I use Easy Opener to give guests an “easy opening” to talk to me about what I do as a consultant), Host Gift (I use a Season’s Best Recipe Book and have all the guests sign the inside front cover), Laptop, Apron, Table (if host doesn’t have one), Tablecloth, Planner, Host Packets, Specials Book, Recipe Books, Towel, Recipe Cards, etc… I carry a small collection of Quikcut Paring Knives, Twixit Clips, Season’s Best Cookbooks, Pan Scrapers, to give guests who bring a guest. Whatever you’d normally take.
(ii)Before the Show
Set up Table and/or kitchen counter areas for different stations:
Station One: Products: Cutting Board, Food Chopper, Rotary Grater, Small Batter Bowl (use
Envelope 1plate if only one bowl is available)
Food: Onion, Cheese
Station Two: Products: Cutting Board, 5” Forged Utility Knife and Honing Tool, Ultimate
Envelope 2Mandoline, Second Small Batter Bowl, Core & More, Prep Bowl,
Citrus Press, Prof. Shears
Food: Lettuce, tomato, red bell pepper, lime, 2 pouches of guacamole, cilantro
Station Three:Products: Classic Batter Bowl, Small Mix & Scraper
Env. 3, 6Food: Taco Seasoning
Station Four:Products: Can Opener, Can Strainer, Egg Slicer Plus, Prep Bowl, Mix & Chop or
Envelope 4Salad Chopper
Food: Olives, 2 Cans of Chicken
Station Five:Products: Adjustable Measuring Spoons, Measure All Cup, Garlic Press
Envelope 5Food: Garlic, Taco Seasoning, Southwest Seasoning, Salsa
Station Six:Products: Executive Small Saute Pan
Envelope 7
Station Seven:This station should be set up on the table where food will also be served.
Envelope 9Products: Large Stoneware Bar Pan on Stackable Cooling Rack, Bowl with Chips,
Small Caddy with two bowls. Bamboo Spoons.
Food: Pizza Crust (unroll one before show, keep other in fridge)
Station Eight:If serving Macho Margaritas:
Envelope 8Products: FamilySized Quickstir Pitcher, Rice Cooker Plus (2/3 ice, 30 0z. water)
Food: Limeade, Tequila, Triple Sec, Brandy, Lime
Before Show:
Roll out 1st layer of dough at Station 7, Keep other roll in fridge.
Grate 2-3 oz of cheese at station 1, place in small batter bowl or on a plate if you only have one bowl.
Place 2 oz of block cheese next to small batter bowl/plate with Rotary Grater at Station 1.
Put ¾ cup salsa in Measure All Cup at Station 5. Add remaining salsa to Caddy at Station 7.
Put Sour Cream in second bowl of caddy at station 7.
Place 2 cloves of garlic at Station 5.
If using cilandro, chop or snip a tablespoon of cilantro and add to Classic Batter Bowl.
Slice lettuce using Utility Knife or Ultimate Mandoline and add to bowl/plate and place at Station 7.
Preheat Oven to 400F
As guests arrive, have them do some of the prep work:
At station 2, slice red pepper with Ultimate Mandoline, then use Utility knife to dice. Use Handy
Scrapers to transfer red pepper to prep bowl.
At station 2, use Professional Shears (Utility Knife if you don’t have shears) to open guacamole
pouches and empty into small batter bowl.
At station 1, borrow knife from Station 2 to cut small onion in small chunks for FoodChopper. Rinse
knife and return to station 2. Chop 1/3 of the onion and use handy scrapers from station 2 to add 1/3 chopped onion to small batter bowl containing guacamole. Leave remaining onion on cutting board with chopper.
At station 2, use Core & More to core tomato, slice with Ultimate Mandoline. Then use Utility knife to
dice. Use handy scrapers to transfer tomatoes to Small Batter Bowl.
At station 5, use small adjustable measuring spoon to measure 1 teaspoon of Southwest Seasoning and
add to Guacamole.
At station 5, use large adjustable measuring spoon to add 3 Tablespoons of salsa to guacamole. Rinse
spoon, dry, and return to station.
At station 2, use Utility knife to cut lime in half. Use citrus press to press half of the lime into the
guacamole. Use Small Mix & Scraper to mix guacamole and either add to 3rd Small Square Bowl or place on table at Station 7 by the chips.
At station 4, use Smooth Edged Can Opener to open two cans of chicken. Use Can Strainer to drain
chicken juice. Add drained chicken to Classic Batter Bowl. Use Mix & Chop or Salad Chopper
to further crumble the chicken.
At station 3, use large Adjustable Measuring Spoon to measure one Tablespoon of taco seasoning and
place on chicken in Classic Batter Bowl.
At station 4, use Smooth Edged Can Opener to open olives. Drain using Can Strainer over Prep Bowl.
Return liquid to can and dump on Can Strainer full of olives into Prep Bowl.
At station 8, add limeade into pitcher, add almost full can of tequila, splash of triple sec, 3 splashes of
brandy, half lime pressed with Citrus Press, mix w/ Quickstir, add ice and water to top of grate.
Make sure all guests have a beverage of their choice and are standing around the stations.
MURDER MYSTERY SHOW MASTER SCRIPT
Info: Fill with host’s first name unless preceded by Hotel, then use last name.
Welcome to Hotel ( ). You all arrived earlier today for a “Pampered Chef weekend”. As I understand it you attended a Pampered Chef demonstration upon arrival and many of you placed orders for products. Tonight you were to be treated to a dinner prepared by (______), tomorrow there was a “Pampered Spa” planned for the afternoon, with facemasks and body scrubs, and then an Italian Theme for tomorrow nights dinner. After today’s presentation you were all given time to unpack in your rooms while (______) went to the kitchen to prepare the Mexican stuffed Calzone for dinner tonight. She used mostly her own Pampered Chef products, but it would appear she borrowed a few items as well. At 7pm this evening, minutes before you were all due to come to dinner, (______) was found dead on the kitchen floor by her sister.
My name is Private Investigator (Consultant First and Last Name)
(______) was found with a wound to the back of her head, we suspect she was hit over the head with a Pampered Chef product. Apparently some cash was found nearby, as was a sprinkling of some orange substance. The room smelled like garlic and we did indeed find two peels of garlic, along with an empty jar of Olives in the garbage bin. The stoneware used to prepare tonight’s meal was still warm when I arrived. I have decided we will make our own Mexican Stuffed Calzone, in order to re-create the scene. I have a list of Pampered Chef Products that (______) owned. I have a good idea what she needed to borrow to make this recipe.
I’ll be questioning each of you individually, and please pay close attention as I would like your thoughts on who the murderer is at the end of my investigation.
Alright, let’s get started. Could you each tell me your name and how you knew the victim?
Introductions…(have guests read their intros)
(2)Investigator: Thank you to everyone for the introductions. Now, let’s start on recreating the scene. The Mexican Stuffed Calzone can be made with a mix like our Pizza Crust and Roll Mix or using your own homemade dough. There were refrigerated pizza dough wrappers in the garbage so we assume (______) used store bought pizza dough. We found (______) fingerprints on this Measure-All Cup, which measures liquid and dry ingredients. I’ve been told you can also measure ingredients like butter and mayonnaise with ease because by pushing here the ingredients pop out. Because she used a quick and easy pizza dough recipe we can assume she could have moved on to the filling quite quickly, but first she would have had to grate some cheese. Does anyone here own a Rotary Grater?
Guest one: Oh, I do, I’ve had mine for a while now. I’m left handed and you can take the grater apart and put it together the way you want so it’s perfect for our family as it’s interchangeable between myself and my husband, who is right handed. I don’t just use it for cheese though, I use it for things like nuts and chocolate too.(______) loved her Rotary Grater, she always joked about how nice it was to have knuckle and fingernail free cheese!
Investigator: Did you purchase anything today?
Guest one: I did. I bought the Ultimate Mandoline, which slices tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, and so much more perfectly every time.
Investigator: And how did you pay?
Guest one: I used the Happy Honey Plan, part cash, part check and part on my credit card.
Investigator: One last thing, where were you between 5 and 7pm?
Guest one: I did stop by the kitchen about 5:15 to say hello to (______) and see if she needed any help but she seemed to have it all under control. She had just finished grating the cheese and was getting ready to chop an onion with her food chopper. After that I headed back to my room to have a shower and get ready for dinner.
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(3)Investigator: Thank you [name of guest one].Some of the cheese is grated already, could you please show us how the Rotary Grater works? The next step seems to be to add an onion.
As you can see the Food Chopper is very easy to use. I assume you probably ALL own one. I also can see that it comes apart quite easily {demo taking it apart} and can be put in the dishwasher like this as long as it’s not next to the heating element.(______) was hit on the head with something, but I doubt this was the murder weapon. Do you see how the blades rotate when the plunger is pressed? Surely that would have left a tell tale pattern on her head if this had been used. OK, (guest one), please chop the onion with the Food Chopper on the Cutting Board.
(4)Investigator:So, [name of guest two], can you tell us what you purchased today and how you paid?
Guest two: Certainly, I bought the Forged Utility Knife because its blade holds that razor sharp edge, has a lifetime warrantee and is a lot less expensive than comparable forged cutlery. I already have the Honing Tool which maintains the knife without removing the edge. I bought it last time with my Santoku Knife. My husband never got around to honing our other knives often enough, so now I can hone it without worrying about having the correct angle. Did you know you are supposed to hone a knife every five times you use it? I also bought a Cutting Board because the Pampered Chef Cutting Boards don’t dull your knives, however (______) borrowed it to make dinner. I paid with my credit card.
Investigator: I see, so where were you between 5 and 7pm?
Guest two: I went to my room to read through my Stoneware Sensations Cookbook. At 5:30 I went to find the guest who bought the Adjustable Measuring Spoons so that I could take a look at them, but she wasn’t in her room! Then, I literally bumped into (______)’s sister in the hall. She seemed a bit angry but I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Then I went back to my room.
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(5)Investigator: Hmmm, I see. [Guest three], can you tell me what you bought today and how you paid?
Guest three: Sure, I bought myself a set of Bamboo Spoons and a Classic Batter Bowl by check.(______) borrowed my Batter Bowl immediately though, I barely even unwrapped it!
Investigator: It says on my list that (______) owns a bowl of her own! Why did she need yours?
Guest three: Oh of course she does, it’s just that she was using that to bake a cake. The Batter Bowls are microwave, freezer, dishwasher and oven safe you see. They are much easier to use than regular bowls too because of the handle and spout.
Investigator: So she borrowed the bowl and the spoons. Did you say the spoons were made from bamboo…that’s a pretty strong wood isn’t it?
Guest three: No, she only borrowed the bowl. (______) already owns a set of the Bamboo Spoons. And yes, they are strong and won’t warp or crack. I’ll be getting the tongs and spatulas when I hold my own party because I’ll use my host benefits to get them for free.
Investigator: For free? How does that work?
Guest three: Basically I’ll earn FREE product based on how much my guests buy, so obviously the more guests I have the better. All I have to do is supply a few ingredients and invite my friends and tell them all to bring someone with them.
Investigator: So, where were you between 5 and 7pm?
Guest three: Well actually I met up with the Pampered Chef Consultant to talk about maybe becoming a consultant myself. I need some extra money but want a part time job that is flexible so that it will work around my other commitments.
(6)Investigator: Right, let’s move on then. [Guest four], could you tell me what you bought and how you paid?
Guest four: I used my debit card to pay for my new products. I bought myself the Chip and Dip Bowl and the Dots Bowl Trio, because they will be perfect for chips and dip on Poker night. I also had my Egg Slicer Plus replaced under guarantee. All the Pampered Chef products have at least a one-year guarantee and some even have lifetime ones. You can see little circles next to the products listed in the catalogs, the number inside means how long the guarantee is for. Anyway, I was happy to get a new Egg Slicer Plus, because I use it all the time. I love to make fruit salad with strawberries, kiwi, and bananas. I also use it on mushrooms and even olives!
Investigator: Interesting, so chances are (______) used her Egg Slicer Plus to slice the olives for the recipe. It also calls for 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped.While I chop the chicken, can you please finish slicing the olives? Can you tell me where you were between 5 and 7pm?
Guest four: Sure, I decided to stay in my room and invite some of the ladies for a game of cards. I think there were about 4 of us all together.
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(7)Investigator. Thank you [guest four]. Next thing (______) would have added was a jar of salsa along with some Taco Seasoning. She would have needed measuring spoons for the seasoning although I know she didn’t own any. Did anyone buy them today?
Guest five: I did, I purchased the Adjustable Measuring Spoons and the Measure-All Cup using my hotel petty cash fund. I was really impressed with the measuring spoons because they are adjustable so the big one goes from a tsp to a tbsp, while the smaller one goes from 1/8th tsp to a tsp. The small one will even fit into your spice jars!
Investigator: I see you’ve already used the smaller of the two spoons. Did (______) use your spoons?
Guest five: Yes.(______) called me in my room at 5:25 and asked if she could use my new spoons, so I took them to her. I also helped her by pressing two cloves of garlic using her Garlic Press.
Investigator: That’s odd, your hands don’t smell of garlic.
Guest five: Of course not, you don’t need to peel the cloves of garlic before you press them, you just put them in whole. Then afterwards the little attachment cleans them out for you, I never had to touch the garlic at all.
Investigator: So what did you do afterwards?
Guest five: I came back to my room to read my new book “How to Make Your First Million in the Hotel Industry.”