Club chefs come and go. We hear about it all the time. Now I’m one of them. After a 20-year tenure at Glenmoor CC filled with blood, sweat, and tears, I have decided it is time to find a new way to have my cake and eat it, too. I miss my family. I miss…

Glenmoor CC’s Executive Chef Penelope Wong wears a lot of hats and takes on an immense amount of pressure—but the small successes are what keep her coming back for more. Too many conversations these days center around the lack of bodies to hire, the dwindling quality of today’s labor force, and the need for skilled…

For Glenmoor CC’s Executive Chef Penelope Wong continuing education opportunities over the past year have pushed her into unfamiliar territory while inspiring her to grow and improve her culinary team and her F&B operation. One of the greatest perks of being a private club chef is the benefit of continuing education granted as a typical…

For Penelope Wong, Glenmoor Country Club’s Executive Chef, cooking is the most important and best part of her job and she is often surprised when other chefs aren’t as hands on. I am a cook. I will always be a cook. You can strip away the title from my coat. You can strip away the…

Glenmoor CC’s Executive Chef Penelope Wong keeps an eye on restaurant and food trends while maintaining her focus on integrity and authenticity. Recently I was asked to sit on a panel for the local CMAA chapter here in Denver to discuss what is trending today in the world of club cuisine. As part of the panel,…

When Glenmoor Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) became a sponsoring house with the ACF, Executive Chef Penelope Wong quickly found that apprentices have a lot to learn but can be a useful addition to the team. As all of us become increasingly aware of nationwide staffing woes, we engage in ongoing searches for solutions to help…

After debating the merits of certification, Glenmoor Country Club’s Executive Chef Penelope Wong found the CEC certification process both frustrating and exhilarating. If you read my piece on certification, what I’m about to say may shock you. On June 24th, I gained my certification and I am now a Certified Executive Chef (CEC). If you’re…

Penelope Wong, CEC, Executive Chef of Glenmoor Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) is focused on what is best for the operation and membership as a whole—not on what is best for a single member on any given night. We’ve all been there: Twenty-eight tickets deep with more spewing out of the printer that haven’t…

Picture this: A member walks into the pub area of the restaurant in the clubhouse. He sees the green-felt-covered table tucked away in the corner with four women sitting in an orderly fashion as they play a game of bridge. He looks at the women, makes a little grunting noise under his breath and says…

Penelope Wong, Executive Chef of Glenmoor Country Club, encourages female chefs to stop trying to fit in and instead stand out. There’s a saying: “Women make good cooks, but men make better chefs.” Well, I just so happen to be a woman and a chef. So as part of that emerging classification, I feel a responsibility…

Glenmoor CC’s Executive Chef, Penelope Wong, struggles with whether or not to get certified as an executive chef as she deeply questions the validity and value of what is being tested. How many of us ask this question of ourselves? I certainly do, almost on a daily basis. This is a tale of my own…

Penelope Wong, Executive Chef of Glenmoor CC, has successfully built a team of hard-working individuals from all walks of life who are proud of the work they do and the product they put out. We’ve all heard it. We’ve all experienced it. We’re all still dealing with it. Recruiting and staffing woes are omnipresent. The…

Penelope Wong, Executive Chef of Glenmoor Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.), believes thinking outside the box is crucial to club food and beverage operations, especially in the new year. Happy New Year. For me, those three words trigger not only a period of reflection but an sense of hope for what the New Year…

In the second of this two-part series, Glenmoor CC’s Executive Chef explores the many different facets and traits necessary to succeed as a club chef. As a country club chef, the misconceived glamor associated with being an Executive Chef includes a whole other set of hats to wear than discussed in the first part of…

In the first of this two-part series, Glenmoor Country Club’s Executive Chef explores the many different facets and traits necessary to succeed as an executive chef. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the ideology of a professional chef. Perspectives range from your average greasy spoon devotee to the know-all, tell-all, experimental, trendy foodie. To the…