Reinventing Holiday Meals

Club chefs are responding to the constraints of the coronavirus crisis with new holiday programs and menus.

By Lauren Sasala, Editorial Intern

HOLIDAYS, LIKE EASTER, PASSOVER, and Mother’s Day, bring members and their families together at the club. But shelter-in-place orders have meant that members—and their clubs’ culinary sta s— have had to fi nd ways to celebrate holidays di erently.

“Food has taken on even more importance during this crisis,” says Andrew LaHaye, CEC, Executive Chef of Woodland Golf Club, Auburndale, Mass. LaHaye and his team typically create extravagant bu ets for both Easter and Mother’s Day, but this year they switched to carryout meals for both events.

“We hope that these to-go o erings give our members a sense of hope and security—no matter how bittersweet it may be,” he adds.

Not all clubs have been able to o er to-go service,

though. Some have been forced to close their doors based on di erent state regulations.

“It’s unfortunate because the holiday events, which always sell out, have become traditions for many of our members,” says Katie McAllister, Pastry Chef of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., which canceled Easter celebrations and will remain closed until June 1st.

But for the clubs able to continue operations under a to-go/carryout model, ingenuity has led to lots of creative curbside and virtual activities.

Fred Ramsey, CEC, Executive Chef of Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., commissioned the club’s two dedicated sprinter vans and valet service to deliver Easter meals to members unable to leave their homes.

Pelican’s serving sta took orders over the phone and turned the club’s dining room into a staging area.

Matthew Azevedo, Executive Chef of Peninsula Golf and Country Club in San Mateo, Calif, wanted to keep his holiday menu simple, with minimal preparation needed. He o ered items like spring greens, roasted leg of lamb, shrimp cocktail and a strawberry rhubarb crumb tart for dessert.

“Easter dinner pickup sold out within an hour,” says Azevedo.

Looking to add a little something extra to the pickup process, a number of clubs—including the Country Club of Paducah (Ky.), The Country Club of Virginia (Richmond, Va.) and Talbot Country Club (Easton, Md.)—invited the Easter Bunny to help load cars.

In place of traditional egg hunts at the club, some clubs o ered to hide eggs in the yards of neighboring members. Others, including Stock Farm Club in Hamilton, Mont., Cherry Creek Country Club in Denver, Colo., and Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif., o ered kits for cookie decorating and egg dying, virtual coloring contests, and candy bags for families missing the traditional festivities.

“We’re all just trying to bring as much normalcy as possible,” says Scott Stiehl, Executive Chef of the Country Club of Crystal Coast (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.), where the Easter Bunny drove around on a golf cart waving to members.

EXECUTING THE DAY

With many clubs being forced to furlough sta , providing hundreds of

Beechmont CC prepared a carryout Seder meal for club members to celebrate Passover.

Orders were placed directly into cars curbside.

high-quality to-go meals posed some challenges to keep food fresh during travel time and make sure it would be easy for members to reheat in their homes.

Executive chefs like John McManus of St. Davids Golf Club in Wayne, Pa. and Pedro Sanchez, CEC, of BraeBurn Country Club in Houston, Texas, o ered the option to pick up meals before Easter Sunday that included easy-to-follow reheating instructions.

Chefs displayed extra caution planning the details of the day, to ensure limited exposure.

At Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.), Executive Chef Colby Newman had members submit orders through e-mail. Then the club’s valet sta assisted during pickup, placing orders directly into members’ cars. At both Holston Hills Country Club (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Northampton Country Club (Easton, Pa.), the chefs organized staggered pickup times to avoid large rushes of people and long waits.

And for club members who ended up spending the day alone to adhere to distancing guidelines, Michael Starkey, Executive Chef of Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club in Harbor Springs, Mich., o ered single-serve plates. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t forget about them or their

HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING CONTINGENCIES*

17 Easter meal canceled 68 Easter to-go meal offered 2 Easter delivery offered

4Mother’s Day canceled 26 Mother’s Day to-go meal offered 2 Mother’s Day delivery offered 41 Mother’s Day plans undecided

needs,” he says.

Michael Valentino, Executive Chef of Beechmont Country Club in Beachwood, Ohio, prepared a carryout Seder meal for club members to celebrate Passover, featuring items like chicken, salmon, roast brisket and Matzo ball soup.

ONE WEEK AT A TIME

As April ended, many chefs were still hoping to be able to celebrate Mother’s Day with a dine-in experience. But they were also making plans for o ering creative ways to celebrate moms, should stay-at-home orders be extended.

David Daddezio, Executive Chef of Vicmead Hunt Club (Wilmington, Del.), was planning to o er a Mother’s Day “breakfast in bed” box that included a place setting, a bottle of Prosecco, a bottle of orange juice, smoked salmon, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and a loaf of bread with a small jar of preserves.

Pelican GC’s Ramsey was planning to send chocolate boxes to moms, while Scott Ryan, Executive Chef of The Country Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio, was planning to assemble gardening kits to send alongside meal orders.

Whether clubs will return to business as usual before Memorial Day was also still up in the air—but if that proves to be the case, club chefs will no doubt be ready to adapt. C+RC