From whole lambs slow-roasting on a spit to beets buried in embers, club chefs are embracing live-fire cooking—not just as a technique, but as a full sensory experience that’s equally exciting for members and staff.
At Farmington Country Club in Virginia, Executive Chef Michael Matarazzo runs two smokers: one indoors and one on a trailer for outdoor events.
“We do a lot of barbecue here,” notes Matarazzo. Last year, the club hosted a Southern-style, open-pit barbecue theme night that exceeded expectations.
“That was hugely popular,” he says. “To the point now where we’re contemplating whether we should have a regular, permanent, supplemental menu to our full menu at the grill that features a weekly rotation of barbecue items.”
Among the top dishes is the club’s pastrami short rib.
“We brine the rib for 72 hours, then we put the pastrami rub on it and smoke that in-house,” Matarazzo says.
There are some operational considerations, he notes.
“Take into account the staffing you have and the time you have to put into it,” Matarazzo advises. “You could get super curious about barbecue and smoking and say, ‘I don’t want any digital controls,’ but that also requires somebody tending to the fire constantly. … For efficiency, for operations like we run, for smoking, I would go with something that has thermostatic controls.”
Members’ growing interest in barbecue and other styles of cooking led to the launch of a live-fire class.
“Usually, we start cooking pretty early in the day, especially if we’re doing whole animals,” Matarazzo says. “Throughout the course of the day, there were a lot of members coming to us and asking about what we’re doing and how they could learn how to do it. There’s a whole lot of interest in this style of cooking. That’s how the class was born.”
About 35 members attended the first session, which combined education, demonstration, and lunch.
“I had a whole lamb on a cross over a fire,” Matarazzo says, “and we had open pit barbecue chicken, whole sides of salmon over fire. It was really exciting for the members to see, and the response was incredible.” Feedback from members only highlighted the need for more plant-based options, which have since become a staple.
“We’ve done whole beets, where we put them directly into the embers. … We’ve done pineapples that are peeled and hanging over the fire. Fire-roasted grapes are shockingly delicious; the texture inside is surprisingly similar to apple pie filling.”
These demonstrations have also become valuable internal training tools. There are two main learning curves, Matarazzo notes.
“One, understanding how fire works and understanding that fire has a life of its own,” he says. “Cooking one thing once over live fire successfully doesn’t necessarily mean you can copy that formula the next time. The other thing is, when you grill in a backyard, you put meat on the grill, and you expect to hear that sizzle, and to have some flames. But not every style of live-fire cooking is supposed to have those effects.”
Farmington’s setup may appear elaborate, but it began simply.
“We started with equipment that you would take camping with you,” he says. “You don’t have to wait until you have a big budget to start live-fire cooking. You just have to be creative and think outside of the box.”
At a golf club, though, there’s a major factor to consider: the grass.
“Make sure that you have a plan for preventing damage,” advises Matarazzo. “Work closely with the grounds team.”
Farmington’s team built a custom, fireproof pallet lined with bricks and stones, creating a realistic-looking fire pit without damaging turf.
“When people come up and see a Dutch oven on a tripod with collard greens over this campfire, it looks like we built a campfire on the grass,” Matarazzo says. “But when the event is over, we remove all that, and the grass is as green as it was before.”
