Brittany Seymour, Executive Sous Chef of The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., says inspiration for her honey walnut shrimp mousseline began with the idea of classic honey walnut shrimp.
“But we wanted to challenge ourselves to think of it differently,” says Seymore. “Could we turn it into a katsu sando? A possible hors d’oeuvres? We tested variations on this theme, but it seemed like we could take it one step further. What if instead of the hors d’oeuvres idea, we looked at it as an elevated plated first course?”
Club + Resort Chef (C+RC): Which skills or techniques make this dish special or unique?
Brittany Seymour (BS): Anyone who knows me, knows I have a deep love for mousselines. I fell in the with the process, and truly the art of creating them. There are a variety of proteins and presentations—I have stuffed morels, wrapped it around a beef tenderloin for a Wellington—the world is your oyster with something as stunning as a well-made mousseline.
If you are familiar with The Country Club or the Squirrel Squad (our entire team across all departments), you know we view the club as a teaching environment. I really enjoy passing along my love of mousselines to my entire team, so the idea that I got to teach this style and then watch the team execute it for events was truly a meaningful moment in my career.
During this particular menu, with this dish, I shared my excitement with the team. But I also got to share every mistake I made and grew from during the process. [I shared] all of my knowledge—the good, the bad, and the really not-so-great—so they could learn from my mistakes and how to problem-solve if things were to go wrong in the cooking process and more important confidently fix those mistakes.
C+RC: How do you describe the flavors and the presentation of this dish?
BS: This dish is a fresh, herbal and nutty composition of flavors. You’ll get some heat from the mousseline itself along with the sauce, some smokiness from the charred scallion aioli and burnt lemon peel dust, and sweet-buttery flavors from the candied walnuts. We like to present this dish on a black plate to help brighten all the colors on this dish and make the honey sauce with scallion oil pop off the plate. To top it off, the tempura cracker adds some crunch to the dish itself.
C+RC: Why does this particular dish stand out for you?
BS: There’s a saying, “you eat with your eyes first,” often attributed to Apicius, a Roman gourmand from the first century. And everyone will look at your plate differently. It is such a beautiful concept if you take a step back and think deeply about it. As a team, we can pull inspiration, backgrounds and knowledge together to create food that speaks to the members and brings us closer to what we are cooking for them.
The banquet department at a club truly represents the idea that “it takes a village.” This dish holds a special place in my career—from the idea, to the prep, to the execution of this dish, we have all had hands on it before it goes out. We are all in the business of creating memories—with each other because we spend so much time together—but more importantly, with and for our members. Whether it be their birthday, engagement or larger club events, we spend weeks making the perfect menu, picking out linens, the plates, and down to the folds of the napkins, all to make their one night not just incredible, but memorable. The highest compliment is that our food was something they will always think back on.
