Brandon Bobb, Executive Chef, Maketewah Country Club (Cincinnati, Ohio)
For Brandon Bobb, Executive Chef of Maketewah Country Club (Cincinnati, Ohio), the summer season signifies a chance to reinvent his caprese salad recipe—a light and elegant but quick dish that members look forward to all year.
“I have a member, Joe Wilson III. He ate my caprese salad with grilled chicken almost every day last year, so I knew he would be looking forward to this dish when it came back around,” says Bobb. “That push made me want to elevate it even more.”
Club + Resort Chef (C+RC): How would you describe the flavors?
Brandon Bobb (BB): This dish has a sweet, rich acidic flavor from the tomatoes. … I tasted these Yoom tomatoes at a food show early this year and was blown away by how this dark, almost purple tomato burst with flavor. … [There’s a] soft, fresh creaminess from the cheese, and that perfect sweet bitter flavor from the balsamic.
What I love most about this dish is the herbaceous flavor that the pesto brings into the dish itself. We make it from the basil we grow in our herb garden—we transformed a space not being used into an entire small garden with everything from bell peppers to sunflower seeds.
Then tat toasty, nutty flavor from the pistachios really brings the whole dish together. It’s like this orchestra in your mouth of fresh flavors. You really need that touch of salt and pepper, but the rich chive olive oil gives that perfect mouthfeel and richness to make it a little elegant.
C+RC: What makes this a successful dish?
BB: It is something entirely relatable but just tweaked to make it special again. It’s seasonal, so it only lasts so long before it is gone. When something is known to not last forever, I think it makes you cherish its existence and purpose a little more. Plus, it is pretty tasty.
C+RC: Do you think other chefs could be inspired by this dish and why?
BB: I truly hope so. I am inspired by [other chefs] when I see their dishes. I love seeing refreshing takes on dishes; it makes me get that drive to create, and I love that. I think this [dish] might inspire a chef to rethink their caprese and try something new with something familiar.
