Chef’s Thoughts: Daniel Andre, Buckhead Club

Daniel Andre is the Executive Chef of ClubCorp’s Buckhead Club in Atlanta, Ga., which has consistently provided some of the best culinary offerings in the management company’s portfolio over the past ten years.

Born and raised in France on the northwest side of Paris near Versailles, Andre’s culinary career has taken him from restaurants in Paris all the way to Bermuda before coming to the United States in 1989, where he spent seven years with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. He then moved into the club industry with ClubCorp, spending three years as Executive Chef of Atlanta National Golf Club in Alpharetta, Ga., before moving to his current post at the Buckhead Club, where he’s been for the past seven years.

1. You’d be surprised to learn that I learned English on the island of Bermuda.
2. If I could trade places with one chef it would be Pierre Gagnaire.
3. One of my most memorable meals was at Restaurant Sens in Grenoble, France.
4. My go-to drink is a ”dark and stormy,” made with Bermudian black rum, ginger beer and lime.
5. My last meal would be duck foie gras au torchon and a glass of Beaumes de Venice.
6. My worst culinary creation was my first attempt at soufflé.
7. If I could change one thing about my club I would add a bakery.
8. My favorite junk food is potato chips with Sriracha mayonnaise.
9. If I weren’t a chef, I’d love to be a horticulturist.
10. I knew I wanted to be a chef when I first arranged fruits on a pie at a family-owned bakery at the age of 8.
11. You’ll never see lamb brain on the menu at my club, because of the look of it.
12. The most ridiculous member request I’ve ever had was when a member ordered a rare pork chop.
13. I love being a club chef because of the daily creative opportunities and the relationships I have with members.
14. When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m spending time with my family, riding my bike, playing racquetball, or tending to the vegetables and herbs in my garden.
15. My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was thinking that, with my diploma in my pocket, I knew a lot more about cooking than I actually did.
16. If I were stranded on a dessert island, I’d want butter, cheese, bread, wine and charcuterie with me.
17. I cook tripes at home, but I’d never cook it at the club.
18. If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Marcus Gavius Apicius.
19. The most valuable piece of advice I’ve ever received was: “Stay focused and use the best ingredients all the time.”
20. My favorite celebrity chef is Ming Tsai, because of his personality and perseverance in teaching simple things the right way.
21. Seasonal mushrooms are my favorite ingredients. Truffle is the most overrated ingredient. And AOC butter is the most undervalued ingredient.
22. I detest durian fruit and can’t live without bread and cheese.
23. In clubs, I’d like to see more care paid to farm-to-table and sustainability, to help establish better eating habits and higher standards.
24. In clubs, I’d like to see less oversized portions of mediocre fare.