The latest 2026 Cookbook entry, courtesy of Director of Culinary Operations Richard Nielsen, CEC, PCIII, was the third course at one of Audubon Country Club’s (Naples, Fla.) chef’s table: Seared Australian Wagyu Ribeye.
“The inspiration for this dish came directly from the Aussie Beef and Lamb product tastings and presentation [at PlateCraft],” notes Nielsen. “The wagyu beef really piqued my interest after tasting the delicious creation made by [Cullasaja Club] Executive Chef Scott Craig and his team during the last night of PlateCraft. After returning home to Naples, we previously had a chef’s table wine pairing experience planned, so creating a menu with the team was easy.”
Club + Resort Chef (C+RC): C+RC: What was R&D like? What were the biggest challenges?
Richard Nielsen (RN): R&D for the event was quite easy, especially after returning from PlateCraft with so much inspiration and knowledge gained from all the chefs gathered there. The biggest challenge for us was self-editing the multitude of ideas into five composed dishes that flowed together and paired well with the wines.
C+RC: describe the flavors and presentation. What makes this a successful dish?
RN: The flavors for the dish started with earthy notes in the mushrooms and Australian wagyu, then layered in sweet onions, crispy lotus root chip, rich roasted garlic-gorgonzola butter, and finally the Cabernet veal glace. The presentation was a classic center of the plate approach. We believe this to be a successful dish based on the clean plates returning to the kitchen.
C+RC: What do you believe makes for a successful chef’s table experience?
RN: A successful chef’s table experience for us is connecting with our membership and having the opportunity to show the talents of our culinary team. Having conversations and telling stories about the products we are using, why we selected them, and how we developed the flavors for each dish. The best part of the entire evening is being able to recognize the team responsible for creating and executing the event.
