10 minute read
James Haberstroh Relies on RATIONAL to Do More
The kitchen at Glen Ridge CC is home to multiple RATIONAL units, including the iCombi Pro and iVario Pro.
By Joanna DeChellis, Editor
AS THE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO SEARCH for ways
to do more with less, James Haberstroh, Executive Chef of Glen Ridge (N.J.) Country Club, has found an equipment solution in RATIONAL—a market leader in combi oven technology—that not only helped him improve quality and consistency but also allowed him to add a third shift and build out the pastry department.
When Haberstroh came to Glen Ridge in 2016, the club was embarking on a massive $12 million renovation. Included in that was the opportunity to build new à la carte and banquet kitchens. Because he had experience using RATIONAL in prior clubs, Haberstroh knew he wanted to bring the combis into Glen Ridge.
He started with two consignment units and, as expected, the many benefi ts and capabilities were quickly realized. In 2021, Glen Ridge upgraded to all brand-new units.
Today, the club’s kitchen features three SelfCookingCenters, an iCombi Pro and an iVario Pro. Haberstroh has also become a RATIONAL Certifi ed Chef and helps train other chefs on how to properly use the units in their own operations.
He and his team use the equipment to prepare most food items, from meats and seafood to pastas, vegetables, broths and stocks. He also hired a pastry chef who uses the combis to do most of the baking in the mornings, prior to the club’s busy dinner shift.
Glen Ridge CC’s Executive Chef James Haberstroh appreciates how much his RATIONAL equipment helps increase consistency, speed and efficiency.
iVario Pro
Club + Resort Chef (C+RC): What were some of the biggest challenges these units have helped you solve? James Haberstroh (JH): Being able to rely on this equipment to cook or clean itself overnight during what would essentially be a ‘third shift’ has helped us establish a better work-life balance. We were also able to improve consistency, quailty, speed and efficiency. And because the equipment is so versitile, we were able to free up some much-needed space in the kitchen, too.
C+RC: What units do you have at Glen Ridge? JH: We have one iCombi Pro 6-half, one iVario Pro 2-S, one SelfCookingCenter® 20-full and two 2x SelfCookingCenter® 6-full.
C+RC: What are some ways you use your equipment? JH: The iVario Pro replaced our old tilt skillet, and we use it for things like chili, risotto, sauces and potato latkes. We use the iCombi Pro to prepare most food items, from meats and seafood to pastas, vegetables, broths and stocks. We use the VarioSmoker for BBQ and the steaming function for things like octopus. The iCombi Pro has been instrumental in helping us expand our pastry department, too. Our Pastry Chef can use it in the morning to prepare all sorts of pastries even though we don’t have a bake shop or dedicated equipment. C+RC: What would you tell a chef considering adding a RATIONAL to their kitchen? JH: You won’t regret this purchase. This is the ‘technology of now,’ and it can help you establish greater consistency in your kitchens and with your menus, no matter how understaffed you may be. The iCombi Pro and iVario will help you to enhance already skillful dishes, while also freeing up your culinary team to do even more for your members. C+RC
Glen Ridge menus change every four weeks, and recipes are tested, perfected and stored using ConnectedCooking.
View photos from the annual Chef to Chef Conference that drew more than 450 attendees last month.
A Club + Resort Chef Sta Report
MORE THAN 450 CLUB AND RESORT CHEFS attended the 2022 Chef to
Chef Conference, hosted at the Grant Hyatt Nashville hotel in March, for three days of education sessions on a range of topics specifi c to club and resort chefs, networking with colleagues and industry partners, live music, great food—and the annual Club + Resort Chef of the Year competition.
Day one opened with a series of pre-conference sessions hosted by some of this year’s sponsors, including RATIONAL, Montague, Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, American Lamb, C&T Design, Forever Oceans and Northstar. Later that night, after an opening cocktail reception, Edward Lee, chef, author and philanthropist, delivered a powerful keynote address about the evolution of the food and beverage industry and about how he and his team have remained positive and creative in the face of multiple challenges.
The annual Chef to Chef Conference drew more than 450 attendees this year. Hosted at the Grand Hyatt Nashville Hotel in March, the conference featured three days of education sessions, networking with colleagues and industry partners, live music, great food and the annual Club + Resort Chef of the Year competition (see page 49).
2022 Chef to Chef in Nashville
Following Lee’s address, attendees moved to the rooftop lounge at the Grand Hyatt for a kicko party for with food, cocktails and live music.
The fi rst full day of the 2022 Chef to Chef Conference began with a delicious breakfast spread followed by a presentation by J. Kevin Walker, CMC, Executive Chef, Ansley Golf Club, on Chef’s Tables and Tasting Menus. During his presentation, Walker demonstrated how to prepare one of his most successful duck dishes.
Other sessions that day covered: •Culture Shock: Rethinking Club Chef Culture presented by Michael Matarazzo, CEC, Executive Chef, Farmington Country Club •Beyond the Cucumber: Pickles, Vinegar & Fermentation + Demo, presented by Gerald Ford, CMC, Contributing Chef Editor, Club + Resort Chef •Pastry From the Hot Line + Demo, presented by Tracy Ho er, CWPC, Executive Pastry Chef, Chevy Chase Club •The Art of Open Flame Cooking + Demo, presented by local Restaurateur and Pitmaster Pat Martin •A panel discussion on the power of mentoring, moderated by C+RC’s Editor, Joanna DeChellis, who posed a series of questions to Wes Tyler, WCMC, CEC, CCA, Executive Chef, The Club at Carlton Woods; Jennifer Landy, Executive Chef, Battleground Country Club; and Daniel Montano, CEC, Executive Chef, The Berkshire Country Club.
Chef Edward Lee gave the keynote address at the annual Chef to Chef Conference in Nashville. Lee spoke about the evolution of the food and beverage industry and how he and his team have remained positive and creative in the face of various challenges.
Tracy Ho er, CWPC, Executive Pastry Chef, Chevy Chase Club, o ered recipes, garnishes and techniques chefs can bring back to their kitchens and execute with or without a full pastry kitchen and team.
Monday’s sessions included a panel discussion on the power of mentoring, moderated by C+RC’s Editor, Joanna DeChellis (far left), who posed a series of questions to (from right) Executive Chefs Wes Tyler, Jennifer Landy and Daniel Montado.
To wrap Monday, attendees had exclusive access to one of Nashville’s most famous rooftop patios, Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge, featuring live music, a locally inspired menu and stunning views of Music City, sponsored by C&T Design.
Joe Barks, Editor Emeritus, Club + Resort Business, kicked o the conference’s fi nal day by presenting the Chef to Chef Conference Milestone Pins to those who’ve attended fi ve or 10 conferences as of this year.
Tuesday’s sessions included: • Next-Gen Food Trucks + Demo, presented by Scott
Craig, CEC, CCA, WCMC • E cient Leadership Strategies for Club Chefs, presented by Lawrence McFadden, CMC • Charcuterie Masterclass + Demo, presented by
Sam Jett, Director of Operations for Patchwork Productions (Audrey,
Joyland, The Continental), and Colin
Shane, Chef de Cuisine, The Continental • Why Chefs Must Embrace a “Persevering
Mindset” by Shawn
Loving, CMC, Detroit
Athletic Club
Following lunch, the Chef to Chef Live breakout sessions featured rotating moderators who led free-fl owing interchanges on a variety of topics including Culinary Costs and Finances, Modern Member Dining Habits and Preferences, Career Building Strategies for Club Chefs, How to Manage Generational Diversity in the Club Kitchen and Making Club Dining More Sustainable.
Finally, during the annual mystery basket-style culinary competition, Robert Meitzer, Executive Chef, Forest Lake Country Club, and James Allen, CEC, Executive Chef, Blackthorn Club at the Ridges, were named the 2022 Club + Resort Chefs of the Year (see sidebar, opposite).
The conference wrapped with the highly anticipated sponsor ra e followed by Joanna DeChellis, Editor of Club + Resort Chef, announcing that the 2023 Chef to Chef Conference will be in Miami,
Above (left to right): Rob Thomas, Editor, Club + Resort Business, Jerry Schreck, Executive Chef of Rehoboth Beach CC and former National Program Coordinator for the Chef to Chef Conference, Greg Volle, Executive Chef, St. Ives, CC, and Joe Barks, Editor Emeritus, C+RB. Shawn Loving, CMC, gave a presentation that inspired chefs to embrace a ‘Persevering Mindset.’ Attendees had exclusive access to one of Nashville’s most famous rooftop patios, Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge, featuring live music, a locally sourced menu and stunning views of Music City.
March 5-7, 2023. C+RC
Robert Meitzer and James Allen Win 2022 Chefs of the Year Competition
To punctuate the 2022 Chef to Chef Conference in Nashville, eight club chefs competed in teams of two—drawn at random—in a mystery basket-style culinary competition.
During three exciting rounds, the teams had access to an extensive spread of ingredients, equipment and plateware. Each round lasted 25 minutes and concluded with an expert group of judges determining the winners.
In the fi rst round, Anthony Capua, Executive Chef, Sycamore Hills Golf Club and and Wesley Tyler CEC, CCA, WCMC, Executive Chef, The Club at Carlton Woods, competed against Jason Hembree, Executive Chef, Doylestown Country Club, and Will Bystrzycki, Executive Chef, Wildcat Cli s Country Club.
Capua and Tyler made a Chinese fi ve-spice Maple Leaf duck magret with gigante bean and guanciale cassoulet and a pickled radish orange micro-salad.
Hembree and Bystrzycki prepared a butter-poached lobster tail with a poblano crème over bacon, corn and crawfi sh hash with a micro-cilantro and celery salad, pickled onion and butter pan-glaze. Hembree and Bystrzycki edged out Capua and Tyler to win round one.
In round 2, Steve Boeger, Executive Chef, Hendersonville Country Club, and Jen Landy, Executive Chef, Battleground Country Club, competed against Robert Meitzer, Executive Chef, Forest Lake Country Club, and James Allen, CEC, Executive Chef, Blackthorn Club at the Ridges.
Boeger and Landy prepared a dish of furikake beef tenderloin with tru ed caulifl ower silk, mushroom mélange, maitake soy jus and a quick pickled radish salad. Meitzer and Allen prepared a mojo pork ribeye with Cuban quinoa, pickled baby vegetables and micro-green chimichurra. Meitzer and Allen won round two.
In the championship round, Hembree and Bystrzycki competed against Meitzer and Allen.
Hembree and Bystrzycki ri ed on Nashville hot chicken, preparing a fried chicken thigh with chive and black peppered potatoes, a cilantro chile lime slaw and tru ed Sriracha Bu alo sauce.
Meitzer and Allen prepared a curry seafood mélange with sweet and spicy sambal soba noodles and loads of fresh vegetables with a micro-cilantro salad to win the title.
“I’m so honored to have competed with some of our industry’s greats, and I’m absolutely honored to have been named as one of the Club + Resort Chefs of the Year,” says Allen. “A big shoutout to my competition partner, Chef Meitzer. We had never met before this competition, but we were laserfocused while creating our dishes.” C+RC
During the annual mystery basket-style competition, Robert Meitzer, Executive Chef, Forest Lake Country Club (right), and James Allen, CEC, Executive Chef, Blackthorn Club at The Ridges, were named the 2022 Club + Resort Chefs of the Year.
Steve Boeger, Executive Chef, Henderson CC (left), and Jen Landy, Executive Chef, Battleground CC (right) Anthony Capua, Executive Chef, Sycamore Hills GC (left) and and Wesley Tyler CEC, CCA, WCMC, Executive Chef, The Club at Carlton Woods (right) Jason Hembree, Executive Chef, Doylestown CC (left), and Will Bystrycki, Executive Chef, Wildcat Cli s (right)
