Zouhair Bellout, Culinary Director and Executive Chef of Reynolds Lake Oconee, finds inspiration in travel and cultural exploration, while maintaining respect for ingredients and seasonality.

A chef’s culinary style is personal, and this extends to presentation. Club chefs are tasked with crafting plates that represent themselves but also cater to club members’ tastes, while still pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations at every meal.

“Making a dish look pretty is essential in the culinary artistry that we do to elevate a meal from a basic to an extraordinary experience,” says Zouhair Bellout, Culinary Director and Executive Chef of Reynolds Lake Oconee (Greensboro, Ga.). “When you present [a dish] well, you’re not only going to stimulate the appetite of that member, but you’re also communicating, ‘I took care of that dish for you. I took care of all the details for you.’ It sets the stage for the experience you’re about to have.”

At Reynolds Lake Oconee, Bellout leads a $13M food-and-beverage operation across six dining rooms for more than 4,000 members. Among the most recent venues is a global street food concept, inspired by Bellout’s background and both his and the members’ international experiences.

“When I first started, there was a genuine interest about who I am,” he says, “and there was genuine interest about the food I grew up eating [in Morocco]. So I started experimenting with dishes from my culture, and the response was positive.”

Reynolds Lake’s membership is culturally diverse, too. Its International Club, made up of members who are either from another country or have lived abroad for at least six months, totals more than 400 people.

“That’s a substantial number of members who represent different cultures,” Bellout says, “and most of our members are well-traveled; they enjoy food from other countries and cultures. Why not have a concept dedicated to exactly that?”

The menu rotates, with a few mainstays, like Indian butter chicken. Current favorites include a Chinese chicken and mushroom dish and ful medames, an Egyptian dish, blended with a bit of Moroccan heritage.

For plating and presentation, Bellout finds inspiration from nature and each season. With this restaurant, there’s also a particular focus on each dish’s origins.

“I won’t put a garnish on a dish just because it looks cool,” he says. “If I’m putting a garnish on a dish, it has to 100 percent fit the dish from visual to flavor to origin.”

Indian Hills CC’s Chef de Cuisine Erica Medina says color is her top plating tool. Her coastal sunshine salad, featuring Scarlet Butter lettuce, dehydrated pineapple, raspberries, jalapeños, mascarpone cheese, passion fruit vinaigrette and coconut pretzel granola, is a prime example. Click here for the recipe.

Feminine Forces

At Indian Hills Country Club—a Mission Hills, Kan.-based club with about 500 families and $3.8M in annual food-and-beverage revenue—specials are called ‘innovations.’ 

Click the photo for Erica Medina’s coastal sunshine salad recipe.

Because the members know and trust her culinary style, Chef de Cuisine Erica Medina, CSC and C+RC 2024 40 Under 40 honoree, has full creative freedom.

“Midwestern clubs [can be] very traditional, and people want comfort foods, but you can certainly take that and put your spin on it,” Medina says. “I put out three specials every week, and every week, I hear, ‘We need that on the menu.’ Well, we can’t have a Cheesecake Factory, 300-item menu, so we cycle them in and out with the rest of the favorites.”

Medina finds plating inspiration in nature and her cultural background—her grandparents are from Mexico and Spain—as well as in femininity.

“We work in a tough industry. It’s not necessarily the most feminine place or even a place where it was acceptable, for a long time, to be feminine at all,” she says. “I channel that into my dishes.”

For Medina, this translates to a sense of whimsy in her presentation, liberal use of color, and delicate placement of ingredients like lavender, chamomile and honey. She even started a honey program at the club, which now has five beehives, and she aspires to start a culinary garden in the next year or two.

Richard Lowack, CEC, CCA, WCEC, Executive Chef, Manasquan River Golf Club

Executive Chef Richard Lowack, CEC, CCA, WCEC, has cultivated herb gardens at every property he’s worked. Now, at Manasquan River Golf Club in Brielle, N.J., he’s collaborating with Greens Superintendent Matt Morrow and General Manager Ryan Brennan to bring his next vision to life.

Once it’s complete, Manasquan River GC’s garden will feature 50-100 different varietals of herbs for the culinary team to use.

“We’ll be growing a lot of our own [garnishes],” Lowack says. “There’s nothing better than that.”

For plating, Lowack finds inspiration in dining out, reading, and staying up to date on what other club culinarians are doing. He touts the industry’s collaborative spirit—and leans on it often.

“For club chefs, there’s a great network,” he says. “Everyone’s willing to share ideas.”

By design, Manasquan River GC’s kitchen mirrors that positive, collaborative spirit. Lowack encourages his team to pitch ideas and try new styles of cuisine and plating.

“Positivity in the kitchen makes creativity flow,” Lowack says. “In a positive environment, you empower people to put their best foot forward and work together to put the best possible plate out.”

Richard Lowack, Executive Chef of Manasquan River GC, finds plating inspiration from fellow club culinarians. He often shares his own creations on LinkedIn, such as his terrine of winter beets with goat cheese mousse, watermelon radish and microgreens.

Take One Thing Off

Medina, too, finds inspiration through club culinary peers and mentors. She worked at Kansas City Country Club prior to Indian Hills CC. She’s also been an apprentice at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla.

“While the internet is an incredibly powerful tool [for inspiration],” Medina notes, “the chefs I have worked next to have all been beautiful artists as well—and a lot more accessible to me. … No matter where [an] idea stems from, I always ask myself what the absolute best way would be to make it and follow through. I make sure each component is intentional and serves a purpose.”

In terms of microgreens, Medina recognizes several schools of thought.

“I understand a lot of chefs think it’s an easy way out. At the same time, there are applications where fresh greens do add to the dish,” she says. “Our microgreens are local, so I’m also supporting a small business—and I create our own garnishes and flair where necessary.”

The bottom line: Balance and technique are key. Sometimes it requires thinking outside the box.

“If I’m missing a crunch, I’ll make something dried or dehydrated. If I’m missing some brightness, maybe I’ll add some French sorrel or a dehydrated or charred lemon wedge,” she says. “Every single ingredient can be manipulated 10 to 20 ways. I think people get stuck in what they’ve seen and what they’ve known and forget to experiment and have fun.”

Still, she says, when you start with the highest-quality ingredients, it’s important to let them shine. 

Reynolds Lake’s Bellout leans on trusted suppliers, as well as a few hyper-local items, to ensure he offers the best product. Following this fundamental step, he avoids overcomplicating a dish with highly manipulated ingredients or excess garnish. 

“It’s almost like a woman getting dressed up and putting on accessories,” Bellout says, paraphrasing a famous Coco Chanel quote: “When you think you’re done, take one thing off.”