Cookbook Spotlight: Richard Brumm, CEC, CCA, Dir. of Culinary Operation at Bonita Bay Club

This dish represents past, present and future for Richard Brumm, CEC, CCA, Director of Culinary Operations, Bonita Bay Club.

When Richard Brumm, CEC, CCA, Director of Culinary Operations, Bonita Bay Club, Bonita Springs, Fla., worked with his mentor, Daniel Scannell, CMC, they developed a duck dish that has lived on his menus in various iterations ever since.

“I’ve reworked this dish dozens of times to refine and evolve it,” says Brumm. “So much of what we do starts with an inspiration that is near and dear to us, then we take it with us down a new path and really make it ours.”

This dish is representative of where Brumm was, and where he plans to go.

“The duck now has a signature brine with coriander and the sauce, which started as a classic l’orange sauce, now features lacto-fermented blackberries that go so beautifully with the duck and work really well in the glace,” says Brumm.

“Beyond connecting me to my mentor, this dish also allows me to connect with my members,” he notes. “Whenever it’s ordered, I go to the dining room and personally pour the sauce, so the member gets to experience the visual of the duck and the plume of steam as the sauce is poured in. It’s a really sensory experience.”