Club + Resort Chef

  • Home
  • Clubs
  • Resorts
  • Recipes
  • 40 Under 40
    • Class of 2025
    • Class of 2024
    • Order: Commemorative Plaque
  • Master Class
  • Documentaries
    • Watch: Inside Ocean Reef
    • Watch: All Ships Rise
  • Certification
  • Resources
    • PlateCraft
    • Chef to Chef
    • C+R Talks
    • Salary Survey Data
    • C+RC Association
    • Digital Issues
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

One Potato, Two Potatoes

By Joanna DeChellis, Editorial Director, Club + Resort Chef | April 15, 2014

008_C2C0414-1At Old Town Club, spuds play a big role in the “new southern” cuisine.

No matter how you slice, dice, stuff or stack them, potatoes are the perfect ingredient for creating exciting sides and starters. Especially at Old Town Club (OTC), Winston-Salem, N.C., where Executive Chef Jonathan Elwell relies on them for both his “small bites” menu and for sides and banquets.

“Potatoes are a simple, versatile ingredient that can be dressed up or dressed down,” says Elwell, who has been at OTC for just over four years. “They also help lower food costs without sacrificing quality.”

As OTC has moved away from large, traditional appetizers over the past two years, its small-bites menu has gained more traction. That menu focuses on modern dishes, like mini-duck sliders with house-cut potato chips, and has been an excellent way for Elwell to feature potato-focused components.

“The most popular was our foie gras-scented French fry,” he says. To make this special treat, he first cleaned a piece of foie and rendered it down. He then mixed the rendering with tapioca maltodextrin, to turn the fat into a powder. Hot from the fryer, he seasoned and garnished the fries with the foie powder.

“We served them with a bison slider,” says Elwell, who runs a 40% food cost at OTC. “They literally melted in your mouth.”
Another popular small bite—both on the a la carte menu and for banquets—are OTC’s pimento cheese-stuffed duchess potatoes.

“We start with a hearty pimento cheese, cutting way back on the mayo, and we fold that into the mash. We then pipe and bake them,” says Elwell.

Other “spud bites” at OTC include a sous vide potato confit made of fingerlings cooked in duck fat, then sautéed and served with local wild mushrooms and shaved manchengo cheese; creamy potato croquets; and a warm sweet-potato salad served with candied Benton bacon.

“On our buffets, we like to do a tri-colored potato gratin made with sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes and purple Peruvian potatoes,” says Elwell, whose a la carte/banquet breakdown is around 60/40. “It can either be sliced or stacked and plated, but both ways it adds a nice punch of color.”

About The Author

Joanna DeChellis, Editorial Director, Club + Resort Chef

As Editorial Director of Club + Resort Chef, Joanna DeChellis takes an audience-first approach that combines sound journalistic and story-telling principles with an appreciation for and deep knowledge of the intricacies of the club and resort chef market. She oversees the content strategy and programming for Club + Resort Chef and its various platforms including the Chef to Chef Conference. She has penned award-winning pieces about the many intricacies within club and resort food and beverage operations as well as culinary trends, profiles and breaking news. She is co-host of the award-winning podcast Club + Resort Talks, and has served in various content-development roles over the course of her career, including digital, marketing, print, and in-person events. She oversees the Club + Resort Chef Association, the Chef to Chef Conference and PlateCraft. Prior to these roles, she was the Managing Editor of Club + Resort Business, Associate Editor of Food Management Magazine and a contributing writer for Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News, Gayot, Cleveland Scene Magazine, and Duetto. Contact her at [email protected].

Related Articles Read More >

Master Menu-Writing Designed Around Budgets at #CheftoChef2023
J. Kevin Walker, CMC, AAC, Invites You to Attend Chef to Chef 2023
Chorizo California Avocado Egg Roll
Fresh Mango Gazpacho

PlateCraft

https://youtu.be/9kF2hijL4ek

Chef to Chef Conference

https://youtu.be/aOZc9QDWWWk

C+RC Newsletter

Club + Resort Chef Association

Elevate Your Club and Career: Join CRCA

C+RC Association Join the Club + Resort Chef Association to connect with a network of elite club culinary professionals and access exclusive resources and certifications designed to elevate your skills and career. Embrace the opportunity to showcase your talent, learn from industry leaders, and stay at the forefront of club culinary.

C+RC Digital Issues

Club & Resort Business Browse the latest and archived issues of the premier magazine for club and resort culinary teams, available in a user-friendly and high-quality format. Enjoy the convenience of bookmarking, sharing, and engaging with the top culinary content tailored for club and resort chefs.

Club + Resort Chef
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recipes
  • Submit a Recipe
  • Club & Resort Chef Association
  • Club & Resort Business

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Club + Resort Chef

  • Home
  • Clubs
  • Resorts
  • Recipes
  • 40 Under 40
    • Class of 2025
    • Class of 2024
    • Order: Commemorative Plaque
  • Master Class
  • Documentaries
    • Watch: Inside Ocean Reef
    • Watch: All Ships Rise
  • Certification
  • Resources
    • PlateCraft
    • Chef to Chef
    • C+R Talks
    • Salary Survey Data
    • C+RC Association
    • Digital Issues
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe