Executive Chef Eduardo Castillo offers a behind-the-scenes look at how San Antonio Country Club is navigating its culinary program as part of its coronavirus response.
Q: How is your club handling operations? Are you opened, closed, only doing carryout?
EC: Starting today, the main club house is only offering carryout packages and prepackaged foods. There is no a la carte whatsoever. All orders must be placed by 2 pm. Hot pickup is between 5 and 6 pm. We are still providing our staff lunch and dinner. Our pool grill operation is also serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 am to 7:30 pm. There is no in-house dining and all orders are to-go to limit gatherings of any kind. We have closed all other food service.
Q: How did you come up with your carryout menu? Does it mirror your a la carte menus?
EC: We are using product we know we can get without challenge. It’s simple food that can be reheated, utilizing items we have on hand.
For the packages, we are featuring member favorites, though we have had to replace a roasted chicken for fried chicken. (View San Antonio CC’s Carry-Out menu here.)
Q: How are you handling labor to manage carryout orders?
EC: We are limiting our hours to a maximum of 40. There is no overtime of any kind and salaried staff is in house at all times while we are servicing. Reception and catering are taking orders and one or two servers or managers are taking care of delivery to the member car when they arrive for order pickup.
Q: Have you had much success thus far with the menu?
EC: A la carte has been very slow, but the pool has been steady, with cover counts around 40% of what they were a week ago. We did 5 packages yesterday.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you’re facing as it relates to the pandemic?
EC: Keeping staff engaged and calm. Making sure they are aware that the situation is changing by the minute and that we need to be flexible. We are making sure they don’t feel the stress we are all facing we are trying hard to put things in perspective. For example, I had to explain how our board members are made up of volunteers who work for large corporations. They are most likely trying to save their companies and at the same time volunteer their time to try to support us. We need to be patient and understanding and know that the answers will come.
Q: What are your top priorities in the short term?
EC: I have four.
- Keep some sort of service available for the members—anything we can provide to support them through this crisis.
- Keep staff engaged and informed on this changing environment.
- Clean all areas of the club that when operational cannot be accessed.
- Plan and prepare for an extended closure. This means we are processing as much food as we can, packaging and freezing it while also turning things into soups and freezing for later use.
