With $4.4 million in annual food-and-beverage revenue, Wee Burn Country Club offers several unique dining experiences for its 750 members, including on-the-water dining at the beach club in the summer. But what secures the Darien, Conn.-based club as a Top Ranked culinary operation is its special focus on locally sourced and seasonal menus.
“Our menus are ever-evolving, and we are a scratch kitchen despite being so large,” says Wee Burn’s Director of Food, Beverage and Culinary Operations, Matthew O’Connor, WCMC, CEC. “We deal with several local farms, shop at a local farmers market (where we often see our members), and do many special culinary-focused events throughout the year to showcase the kitchen’s talents and keep our members engaged in our culinary program.”
Of course, O’Connor says, the club continues to be cognizant of rising food costs.
“We have lowered our portion sizes when appropriate and have removed [or limited] some of the higher dollar items,” he says, such as lobster and Tomahawk steak. “We have budgeted for a higher food cost in 2023 to help keep the membership happy and unaffected.”
View O’Connor’s recent Cookbook Spotlight here, featured in Club + Resort Chef‘s January 2023 issue (available here).
At Wee Burn, culinary employees benefit from above-average wages, says O’Connor, along with measures to enhance the overall quality of life.
“We strive for a four-day work week when feasible and offer the employees perks and benefits so that they want to stay and grow their career with Wee Burn,” he says, “including lots of continuing education opportunities, such as paying for them to join the ACF or CMAA (or both), conference attendance and certification coaching.”
Wee Burn also hosts a summer internship program with several local colleges for both the front- and back-of-house, and the club employs about 10 J-1 interns from around the world.
Wee Burn Country Club was named the #49th Top Ranked Culinary Experience in 2023. View the full list here and Wee Burn’s Top Ranked profile here.
