At Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., shareable small plates are increasingly popular among certain members, says Carlos Lechuga, the club’s Executive Chef, who’s among Club + Resort Chef’s 2024 class of 40 Under 40.
“They do very well in the bar, especially with the golfers who come off the course at four o’clock and don’t want a heavy dinner, so they split two or three small plates.”
Carlos Lechuga, Executive Chef, Troon CC
In total, Troon CC has three dining venues: a casual but elevated bar, a poolside grill and a brand-new restaurant that opened earlier this year called Vista, which features innovative, elevated cuisine, including a five-course prix fixe menu that’s rotated every week during the season.
“We do have some heritage members who like what they like, and that’s perfectly fine,” Lechuga notes. “But we built this new restaurant, Vista, for the members who want to try something new. One of the things I often say in our leadership meetings is that the bar is for eating, but Vista is for dining. This is where members come to try something unexpected.”
In addition to the prix fixe menu, Vista features an a la carte section, which Lechuga says is relatively simple, with a special focus on items made in-house. Lobster gnocchi, cavatelli, and a classic surf-and-turf option are among the popular a la carte offers.
Both for prix fixe and a la carte, Troon CC’s menu-planning process is very collaborative.
“I like to [involve] the cooks,” he says. “I plant a seed, and then they can grow from it. If they come up with a good idea, we’ll work it into the menu.”
The club also checks in with the membership regularly to learn more about ever-evolving preferences.
“[Shareability] is important to the membership, especially giving them variety,” says Lechuga. “And I always have [members] who are interested in healthy options. If they’re trying to cut back on carbohydrates or watch calories, they can order salmon and two sides of vegetables. Even in the bar, I still have healthy options. I’ll do a hummus plate. I always have five salads on the bar menu. With fish and chips, you can order the fish seared, rather than fried, and you can get it with a side salad instead of fries, which has become popular here as well.”
Lechuga has spent most of his career in the Scottsdale area, so he knows it well—the local food, the seasons, and the people.
“Not only [the members], but I keep in touch with other chefs and cooks that I’ve worked with in the past, who are now at other resorts. I can call them and ask, ‘What are you doing over there? What’s trending with your guests?’ I can pull ideas from other [properties] in Scottsdale and try to make them apply to benefit my club.”
Balancing Old and New
At Estero (Fla.) Country Club, Executive Chef Brandon Wheelock, CEC, WCEC, aims to keep a diverse, weekly food-and-beverage offering for the club’s 1,000 members.
In the nearly 11 years since Wheelock started at his club, the food and beverage operation has changed significantly.
“We finished a $6 million renovation about two years ago, and with that, we completely changed the [F&B] offering,” Wheelock says. “We updated and modernized our operation, and we continue to do so today.”
Compared to 10 years ago, Estero CC’s menus are much larger, with a focus on seasonal and fresh ingredients, while still keeping true to tradition. In keeping with member preferences, there’s a robust appetizer selection.
“We offer an a la carte dinner menu that has three or four different appetizers, but we also offer our all-day menu, which features an additional three or four appetizer options. We’re running two menus simultaneously; together, there’s always around eight different appetizers to choose from.”
Estero CC’s tempura duck breast bao buns (click for the recipe)
Mainstays include chicken wings and the shrimp lettuce wrap.
“Members are recently calling for lighter, healthier options,” Wheelock notes, “while still indulging at times.”
Estero CC’s median membership age is in the early 70s, Wheelock says, so he attributes members’ renewed interest in small plates both to a lightened appetite and a desire to stay healthy.
Finding the right balance between new items and old favorites remains important.
“I’ve found that they will try new things,” says Wheelock. “And they’re excited to try new things, but over time, they might revert back to what’s comfortable to them.”
Of course, Wheelock notes, there are challenges that come with a larger menu. “We try to operate at max capacity so adding anything additional can present challenges, especially when it comes to ingredient storage,” says Wheelock.
Still, the club recently relaunched a brand-new small plates section on its a la carte menus—smaller than entrees but larger than appetizers—with a focus on lighter and healthier items.
Estero CC’s Guinness-marinated pork tenderloin, sweet potato purée, summer peach chutney, candied pecan pieces
“We first [offered small plates] around eight years ago, but it didn’t hit as hard as we wanted it to, so we moved away from it,” Wheelock notes. “We recently conducted a focus group for the food and beverage department. The primary takeaways from the feedback were the desire for small plates and lighter, healthier options. This was the first [focus group] we’ve done, but we plan on doing more in the future, probably three or four a year.”
The new menu has five small plates, all scratch-made, including a local black grouper, as members love fresh, local fish options.
Member Satisfaction
As The Forest Country Club’s membership continues to grow, so too does its food-and-beverage offer. “We have about 600-700 members,” says Drew Tait, Executive Chef of the Fort Myers, Fla.-based club and among C+RC’s 2024 class of 40 Under 40. “In the past three years, we’ve brought in roughly 50-60 new members every year. The age demographic has probably dropped six or seven years in that time.”
Drew Tait, Executive Chef, The Forest CC
With this dip, the club’s received new requests for the kitchen to stay open later, especially on the weekends. Now, Tait and his team are contemplating their options.
“Something we’re considering for this next season is a late-night menu,” Tait notes. “This would be a way to take baby steps into limiting our staff, being able to run the kitchen with one or two people so it doesn’t have as much of an overhead cost to it, while still being able to offer something for the members. We might run it until 10 p.m., maybe a little later if necessary. The menu would probably feature five items and pizzas.”
Tait’s no stranger to bold new initiatives. Two years ago, The Forest CC introduced a brand-new sushi program, which Tait notes fits well with an appetizer or small plate menu.
“It also fits with a lot of members who are looking for lighter, healthier food,” he adds. “It’s a good program for a lot of clubs to run, but it can be hard to get off the ground. … We don’t have a sushi chef. I actually learned how to do sushi. Now most of our cooks know how to do it, and we have a few cooks who are really good—they do an excellent job.”
When rolling out a new sushi program, Tait recommends chefs start with the basics. “Look for really good ingredients. Start with a spicy tuna roll, a vegetable roll and a Cali roll. You could start a sushi program with three rolls until your team gets up to speed and everybody’s more comfortable with the process, and then build it from there. We started with five rolls on the menu, then we added sashimi and nigiri. We dabble in different things and see how they sell and if the members like it. That said, the spicy tuna roll will probably always be the top seller.”
When The Forest CC was renovated in 2020, the club added a tiki bar, which features a large patio area.
“We have a bar menu that runs in both our inside bar and our tiki bar,” says Tait, adding that members can order from different menus, including the sushi menu. “[Right now], we also feature grouper nachos, blackened shrimp corn cakes as well as steak and frites with truffle fries. That’s one of our best-selling items.”
The Forest CC’s corn cakes (click here for the recipe)
Recently, the club added a small plate section to its a la carte menus. Tait recommends using this section as an opportunity to get the cooks more involved in menu-planning.
“Give responsibility to a younger lead line cook, or even a sous chef, and say, ‘every week, come up with three to five items that we can rotate on the small plate menu, and let’s talk about them.’ It gives you a chance to talk about plating, portion control—touch on those things we don’t always get to talk about every day, while also giving them more responsibility and ownership.”
At The Forest CC, Tait has found that older members gravitate toward small plates because of the portion sizes, while younger members love the shareability factor.
“Cost per person is a little bit less, so that’s also a driver,” he adds, “but also being able to try new things without risking your whole entrée.”
Clubs do have to consider average check and how appetizers or a small plates menu will impact F&B revenue.
“If we looked at our average check from 2020,” Tait says, “when we didn’t have sushi, when we didn’t have such a robust pizza program, when we didn’t have a small plates menu, our average check was higher because people were ordering entrées. Now we’re doing a little bit more volume, but our average check has gone down. [We’re trying to find] that balance—drive entrée sales, while still being able to offer appetizers and small plates.”
At clubs, the primary goal is always to keep members happy.
“Member satisfaction is paramount,” Tait notes. “Average check is important, but giving members what they want is our ultimate goal.”
