Joshua Cormier

Joshua Cormier currently leads the culinary operation at the Country Club of Louisiana, where he stepped into a rebuild phase and helped stabilize and reset the program. He has focused on restoring consistency, improving execution, and rebuilding trust with both members and staff. Cormier balances creativity with the expectations of a private club environment, strengthening daily dining and large-scale events while keeping team cohesion central to the operation. He credits the teams he has built and the mentors who guided him, recognizing that sustained improvement is always a collective effort.

Club + Resort Chef (C+RC) What does it mean to you to be a C+RC 40 under 40 honoree?
Joshua Cormier (JC): It is a tribute to the teams I’ve helped build and the people who’ve shaped the chef I am today. I’m committed to the craft of cooking and to the teams that make it possible. It is an honor.

C+RC: What quote summarizes your culinary or career philosophy?
JC: "Cooking is easy. Building a team that cooks cohesively is the hardest part and one that must be top of mind every day.”

C+RC: What inspired your career in the club and resort industry?
JC: The ability to get to know members, since they are not merely passing through, creates more opportunities to strike up conversations on special occasions and understand their likes and dislikes. With that knowledge, you cannot rely on the same tactics and must continuously innovate your approach.

C+RC: Can you share a personal challenge you've faced in your career and explain how it has shaped you as a chef?
JC: One of the biggest personal challenges in my career was taking a significant leap of faith by leaving my position as Executive Chef at the Union League Guard House to become the Executive Chef at the Country Club of Louisiana.

At the Union League Guard House, part of the prestigious Union League of Philadelphia, I held a stable, high-profile role in a well-established, award-winning club environment with strong resources, a talented team, and consistent member satisfaction. It was comfortable and rewarding, but I craved the opportunity to lead a full culinary turnaround and build something transformative from a challenging starting point.

The Country Club of Louisiana was in a rebuild phase when I joined. Financials had been strained, and the kitchen operation was in rough shape, with outdated equipment, inconsistent performance, low morale, and declining member feedback on dining. The club needed a complete overhaul to restore standards, control costs, and re-engage members through elevated, personalized food experiences. What convinced me to make the move was my belief in the new General Manager, Chris Brown, and his clear, ambitious vision for revitalizing the club. Chris’s leadership style, strategic plan, including initiatives like CCL Forward for facility enhancements, and commitment to long-term member satisfaction aligned perfectly with my own values. I saw the potential for real impact and growth, even though it meant stepping into uncertainty, tighter budgets, a team that needed rebuilding, and high expectations from discerning members during a transitional time.

The early days were tough. I had to quickly assess and stabilize the kitchen by renegotiating vendor contracts, overhauling inventory and waste management to improve margins, retraining and motivating staff, redesigning menus to balance member classics with fresh, seasonal innovations, and addressing immediate member concerns while planning for larger changes. There were long hours, difficult conversations, and moments of doubt about whether the rebuild would gain traction quickly enough. But trusting Chris’s direction and leaning on my experience allowed us to turn things around. Member dining satisfaction improved, events became highlights again, and we began building momentum toward a more sustainable and exciting culinary program.

This leap of faith shaped me profoundly as a chef. It reinforced that meaningful growth often comes from calculated risks and believing in strong leadership and a shared vision. I became more resilient in high-pressure turnarounds, more skilled at leading through change with empathy and clear communication, better at innovating within real constraints such as budget limitations, and more focused on the human element, earning trust from team members and members alike. Today, I approach every aspect of my role with greater confidence, knowing I have successfully navigated a true rebuild. It made me a more adaptable, member-centric leader, ready to elevate any club operation while honoring its legacy and pushing it forward.

C+RC: What advice would you offer young chefs aiming to excel in the club and resort culinary industry?
JC: Never stop learning; pursue knowledge when you’re young. Embrace criticism and use it to improve your weaknesses. Outwork those around you, but stay humble.