The Director of Culinary at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Club says his members would kick him out if he stopped serving this beloved soup.
Gordon Maybury, Director of Culinary at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Club (Aventura, Fla.), has over 30 years of diverse, top-tier culinary experience. He has held positions in award-winning restaurants and hotels including The Arizona Biltmore – A Waldorf Astoria Resort, PGA Resort Palm Beach, the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Peninsula Hotel New York and Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman.
At Turnberry, he oversees the complete culinary program for the Turnberry Members Club, Tidal Cove Waterpark and the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort.
- You’d be surprised to learn that I am calm. Over the years I have learned to outwardly project a calm demeanor. (Inside, well, yoga helps.)
- If I could trade places with one chef it would be Corey Lee. He represents a new generation of cooks, was trained under Gray Kunz and Thomas Keller, and his knowledge and execution of foods from all over the world is amazing.
- One of my most memorable meals was at Thorntons in Dublin. Kevin Thornton was one of my teachers in culinary school and became one of the best Irish chefs and restaurateurs. His restaurant had 2 Michelin stars, used local, in-season Irish ingredients that he hunted and fished for himself and every meal had so much flavor, was so exact and beautifully presented from the scallops to the turbot to the lamb.
- My go-to drink is a well-made negroni.
- My last meal would be a 10-oz. burger from Le Tub in Hollywood Beach.
- My worst culinary creation was a croquembouche for my grandmother’s 80th birthday. I was in culinary school at the time and I thought it would be cool. It was a total pain. All the choux buns have to be the same size, filled with caramel, and then built into a tower. I tried to do spun sugar to wrap it, but the tower was not straight and there was sugar all over my mum’s kitchen. She wanted to kill me. It tasted ok but didn’t look like anything from the picture in Michel Roux’s pastry book.
- If I could change one thing about my club it would be to add another evening restaurant geared toward families—maybe a casual pizza and pasta place. Corsair and Bourbon fill up quickly and the price point is high—$140 per person in Bourbon and $60 in Corsair.
- My favorite junk foods are Twix and Snickers. (I’m one of the suckers the grocery stores get by having them displayed by the register.)
- I knew I wanted to be a chef when I was in high school and I washed dishes. I was in awe of the chefs. They were a bunch of pirate-like characters. Also, from picking fresh berries in my grandmother’s garden and cooking crepes with her.
- You’ll never see cream soups in the members’ club on the menu at my club because the owners hate it. There are some very vocal members who say it is too heavy and too rich. They love soups like minestrone, onion soup, matzoh ball, and Manhattan clam chowder.
- The most ridiculous member or guest requests I’ve ever had were either omelets, no egg or cobb salad, split three ways, one with cheddar, one with blue, one with no cheese, one with chicken, one with salmon, one with shrimp, one with ranch, one with balsamic, one with their own dressing they produce from their pocket…
- I love being a club chef because every day is different. I love the members but have the resort side, banquets, amenities, a water park, and a few excellent restaurants, too. We have a great staff, awesome owners, and a great team of execs.
- When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m working out at Orange Theory, watching soccer, doing yoga, or “tasting” wine.
- My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was turning down a job at Michael Clifford’s in Cork, which was one of the best restaurants in Ireland at the time. I eventually ended up working with Jean Louis Taillebaud at La Vie en Rose in Sandycove, though.
- If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool Football Club. He is one of the most brilliant man managers in any sport. His ability to motivate, coach, have fun and build a team is very impressive.
- The most valuable piece of career advice I’ve ever received was, “Forget about the money for the first five years. Work in the best places you can and with the best chefs you can. Learn as much as you can. The money will come.”
- My favorite celebrity chefs are the Voltaggio Brothers because they are humble, respectful, amazing with the team and their food is simple, tasty, and great. Bobby Flay is a close second though. A few years ago, I was the host chef at the Loews for the South Beach Wine & Food Tribute Dinner and Flay was one of the chefs. His team did most of the prep, but when he showed up he worked—really worked. He helped with every course, helped every chef, helped us with ours, and his lamb dish with sweet potato gratin with a chipotle cream was awesome.
- The most important piece of equipment in my kitchen is the Rational Ovens. They can do so much. They need to be maintained monthly, but they are excellent.
- I want to learn more about vegan cooking because it’s not a fad, nor a trend that is going to go away. Vegan foods can fill you without making you lethargic. We did a few dinners with Matthew Kenney a few years ago. The tastes, techniques, and ingredients are amazing. We still use some, but there is a lot more to learn here.
- My favorite ingredient is lobster. Truffle oil is the most overrated ingredient. Salt is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest liver and I can’t live without cheese. (Humboldt Fog is my favorite).
- I don’t like to brag, but I can still cook, work the line, and hold down a station. I did it a few times this summer. Some of the guys said “Watch out! Here comes Tom Brady, aka The GOAT!”
- My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was when I was in culinary school. It was my first year and one of the other students was having a tough time lighting the stove. I thought I knew it all so I ended up with a gas build-up, lit the stove and burned my eyebrows, and singed my hair.
- If I could have one superpower, it would be the power to get Embassies open so international culinary students can get visas approved to get to the USA to work.
- My favorite cookbook is Larousse Gastronomique. We actually introduce a new book every month here and we talk about it at the lineup. Cooks can borrow books as well from our library.
- My favorite kitchen hack is using a micro-plane for as much as I can, including garlic, shallots, ginger, lemongrass, chocolate, nuts, and cheese. It’s so easy to clean.
- I am motivated and inspired by the great chefs I followed as I was growing up, including Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis, and Raymond Blanc.
- The most popular item on my menu based on sales is the butter-poached, wood-grilled filet at the steakhouse; the house-blend burger on a house-made brioche bun at corsair; the Greek salad at the members club for lunch; pizza at the pool; and the jerk Mahi sandwich at Surfhouse.
- I’d lose my job if I took Matzoh ball soup off the menu. The owners would literally throw me out.
- Passion and the understanding that they need the team more than the team needs them are the most important qualities in a sous chef.
- My go-to breakfast is a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal, soaked overnight. I eat it standing up in the kitchen before I run out the door every morning. I soak it overnight. When the alarm goes off, I turn on the oats, take a shower and shave. When the oats are ready, I stir in milk, banana, and berries.
- When hiring, spelling mistakes, different fonts, and inaccurate dates kill a resume fastest for me.
- My biggest professional pet peeve is laziness.
- I will always purchase tart shells instead of making it from scratch.
- The most important question I ask during the interview process is, “Name 3 chefs you follow, whether you read their books, follow them on social media, or go to their restaurants.”
- The best excuses I’ve ever been given for calling off work are, “The street is flooded and I can’t get out. Here is a picture.” (It’s the exact same picture they used twice before.) Also, when her boyfriend and roommate got into a fight and some birds got loose.
- If I had to hire a family member, I would choose my brother, Derek, because he washed dishes with me before when I was a cook. He was 15 and he did a good job. He worked hard, got it done, and hustled. He is smarter than me and got a real job coaching professional Rugby and is now a director of Sports for a high school.
- The best culinary gift I’ve ever received was when I left the Peninsula Hotel in NYC, I was presented with a beautiful set of Japanese Knives.