Food

For Myers Park CC and Doylestown CC, the snack bar is evolving into an all-day dining destination.

The fall and winter holidays give clubs ample opportunity to celebrate their members as well as the seasons, with special events featuring traditional and creative foods. From festive themed family brunches and dinners to adults-only cocktail parties, spirit tastings and candlelight feasts, chefs are coming up with menus to persuade members to make their clubs…

Inviting members to participate in one-of-a-kind dining experiences can not only give them greater appreciation for their club, but also for their chef. It used to be that a seat at the chef’s table was an exclusive and upscale affair. But in recent months, club chefs have taken the chef’s table concept to a whole…

Club chefs are fortifying relationships with vendors who understand their unique needs and can provide the best quality products. A shorter supply chain doesn’t necessarily mean a less-complicated one. In fact, working with local, smaller or boutique producers and suppliers can bring a whole new set of challenges. Even so, club chefs are committed to…

Donna Whelden, Executive Chef of North Andover (Mass.) Country Club, challenges her team as well as herself to come up with innovative ways to cross-utilize products and minimize waste. “It doesn’t have to be over the top,” she says. “The goal is simply to minimize what goes into the trash.” One of Whelden’s all-time favorite…

As dining skews casual and small plates remain popular, pizza is the perfect menu item to satisfy both trends. Pizza has an eatability and versatility that can’t be beat. It satisfies both the casual dining and small-plate trends. It can be dressed up or down. It’s good any time of day. And it has both…

More clubs are offering relaxed dining options for members who want to wear jeans, socialize and share plates. The “casual” debate is constantly on the table in clubs across the country. Casual, as it applies to food, dress and décor, is generally well-received. But casual—as it applies to how a club serves its members—is not.…

Club chefs are coming up with exciting new ideas for the classic, tried-and-true dishes members love best. Dishes like fried chicken, pot pies and mac and cheese are classics for good reason: They’re close to perfect. But for creative club chefs, they are also a foundation for endless inspiration. At Ridgemoor Country Club (Harwood Heights,…

Before buying any equipment, be sure to evaluate your property’s needs as they relate to capacity, as well as temperature range and accuracy. Temperature-controlled sous vide cooking has become an indispensable technique for many club chefs. It’s much simpler than its fancy name might suggest. Ingredients are sealed in a plastic bag or canning jar…

The chefs of Oak Hill CC and La Grange CC found that small-plate success is largely dependent on responding to member preference. Small plates and downsized dishes are ubiquitous. They cater to members looking for smaller portions, as well as those looking to dance around a menu and try multiple dishes at once. Chefs also…

With fresh, fast and casual fare, snack bars are becoming one of the hottest dining spots at the club. When someone asks Ben Lorenzen what he does for a living, he smiles and says, “I run a small restaurant.” In truth, Lorenzen is the Creative Director and Director of Aquatics & Fitness at Champions Run…

Club chefs are enhancing this classic cooking technique by introducing global flavors, more complex techniques and non-traditional cuts. Traditional barbecue will always have a place in clubs—especially in the summer. But as adventurous chefs introduce global flavors and dishes and employ more complex cooking techniques, barbecue is becoming increasingly more interesting. At Tulsa (Okla.) Country…

As more members and guests opt for meat-free lifestyles, club chefs are coming up with clever, well-crafted vegetable and grain-focused dishes. Trying to make braised beef short ribs without beef is a basically an exercise in futility. But it’s possible, club chefs report, to create delicious meat-free dishes to satisfy the growing demand for vegetarian…

Chefs are rounding out main dishes with seasonal accompaniments. As club and resort chefs continue to incorporate seasonal foods into menus, sides offer the perfect playground to highlight the very best ingredients at their peak. At Basin Harbor Resort in Vergennes, Vt., Christian Kruse, Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Director, builds menus for the…