What would make a wine dinner stand out, both to members and the club’s culinary team? Keeping it a mystery—theme, location, and menu.
This is the basis for Deal, N.J.-based Hollywood Golf Club’s annual mystery dinner, which began in 2023.
“It was an idea [initiated] by our GM [Salil S. Bokil, CCM],” says F&B Supervisor Jack Gailing. “We wanted to try something that wasn’t your typical wine dinner, which we do a few times a year.”
The club had recently completed a renovation of its halfway house, making it an ideal, yet unexpected, venue.
“We’re about a half-mile from the ocean,” notes Gailing. “The sun sets right on the back half of our property, right in line with the halfway house.”
The theme for the dinner was Napa Valley, complete with a sign hand-painted by Executive Chef Martin Bradley, who’s an artist in more ways than one.
“Chef [Bradley] is super artistic with everything he does,” says Gailing, “and he takes these dinners very seriously; he wants to put his best foot forward.”
For the first year, Hollywood GC capped reservations for the three-course mystery meal at 30.
“The membership had no idea where they were going,” notes Gailing. “We set them up in golf carts in front of our clubhouse, then drove them the long way out to our 17th hole, where we had sushi and Champagne. Then we walked them to the table. It all came together perfectly to create this really big ‘wow’ factor for members.”
Following the success of the first year, the club increased capacity in 2024 to about 40 members.
“Within four minutes, we’d sold out,” says Gailing.
Going In Blind
With the pressure on to outdo the first year, the team began planning right away. Year two’s venue became the club’s cart barn, which was cleared, then decked out with candles, a flower wall for photos, and a live musician playing acoustic guitar.
“We kept the doors of the barn closed until it was time to bring everyone in,” says Gailing, “creating another ‘wow’ factor.”
Menu ideation for the mystery dinners starts with Bradley and Bokil to ensure cohesion of theme.
“They have been working together for a long time, so they have a great connection,” notes Gailing. “They really understand what the limits are, while also being able to step on that line–and sometimes cross over it–and still get good feedback.”
Strong leadership fosters out-of-the-box thinking for Hollywood GC’s team.
“We’re able to be as creative as we want,” says Gailing. “Then we mold it to make the most sense for the membership.”
Following initial planning, Bradley works with his team to nail down every detail.
“From the moment [members] sit down until the time they get up after dessert, it’s about trying to one-up each and every thing,” says Gailing.
Case in point: Following appetizers, attendees were offered a completely blind course, an idea Bokil brought back from a conference he’d attended.
Members were provided with blindfolds that they wore for this course, which Bradley crafted as a single, flavorful bite. Not only did members love it, but it provided a fun new challenge for the F&B team to create a culinary experience that’s exempt from the adage, “You eat with your eyes first.”
The blind course was so well-received that the team is plotting ways to incorporate the idea into other events, whether a single blind course or an entire meal.
And of course, location scouting is underway for this year’s mystery dinner, set for early September. But the details, as always, remain strictly confidential.
