I feel like I'm being a bit misunderstood. I wasn't trying to talk about current employees, but lets work with this analogy.

I take issue with the author trying to judge this chef based on the meal he made for his in-laws. That seems to be the same as judging a candidate's merit based upon their side projects.

My example and question might have been a bit off, but I still think it is a bit flawed to make this judgement when trying to hire someone.