Farmington Country Club, located in Charlottesville, Va., has the assets you would want and expect at a large, vibrant private club. It has scale, with more than 2,500 members; it has the gracious beauty of the South, which affords club members a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains; and it has the connection with tradition and history, which dates back to Thomas Jefferson, who designed the first addition to the club’s historic Main House in 1803.
Culinary Boot Camp – Let’s Eat!
As interest in food at the club has kept pace with the larger culture’s growing appetite for all things culinary, the club has made important strategic investments in its food and beverage program.
The hiring of executive chef Mike Matarazzo signaled that time-honored traditions would continue, but now with a parallel commitment to new and savory innovations that deepen membership loyalty and carve out a place in their hearts (and stomachs!) as the place to eat. Matarazzo and his team have proven that new offerings can quickly become club favorites and also carry uniquely “own-able” attributes that communicate to members that this food represents the unique brand that is Farmington Country Club.
The southern-fried tradition lives on, but now coexists happily alongside hand-rolled sushi and duck confit. Morale is quite high in the Farmington kitchen because the passion for food can find its expression in so many ways. “What’s for dinner?” may be the eternal question found on hungry lips, but increasingly attention gets paid to how the food is prepared, presented and packaged.
So at Farmington you’ll not have to look too far for the storied Virginia ham or the classic seafood chowder or that favorite southern side dish, spoon bread. But you’ll also see that Farmington’s new commercial-grade smoker and barbeque artists are similarly working overtime to conjure up a wide range of emerging Farmington favorites, which include beef brisket lovingly worked with the secret Farmington rub and slowly smoked for 14 hours or so. And if you have a taste for smoked food—and who doesn’t, really?—be sure to try the Farmington-branded jerky or trail mix that has similarly been handcrafted by the club’s food experts
Taking a page from the modern marketing manual, Farmington is increasingly packaging and branding its own food products, building a brand reputation and loyalty that works its magic by cementing relationships with members. So what’s next? Beehives are now in place, so watch for fresh Farmington honey.
“If it ain’t broke, make it better!”
There are many important skills and talents that go into a club’s ability to deliver a multi-faceted and consistently high-quality dining experience. But we’re giving Farmington Country Club especially high marks for one in particular: inventiveness.
In 2012 Farmington embarked on an ambitious Master Plan. Dining facilities were slated for dramatic improvement and expansion. As these renovations and construction projects moved from one area to another, the full range of dining options and operations were not always available or fully accessible. For example, the club’s signature Blue Ridge Room was no sooner completed than work was undertaken on the Grill and the addition of related facilities: a European kitchen, a pub-like bar and an outdoor covered terrace. These facilities will position the club for further growth and fit with the active and casual styles that increasingly characterize modern club life.
The club determined not to sacrifice short-term food service to long-term priorities. In other words, the necessary inconvenience and restrictions of construction did not prevent the club from continuing to serve its members’ various dining needs—and do it in a stylish, if nonconventional way.
The road less taken
It was at a meeting of the club’s management team, as they were trying to figure out how to move food from one venue to another and to deliver just-in-time services to big parties and special events, that one participant tried to lighten things up by cracking wise: “How about a food truck?” Everybody laughed. Yes, very funny. Then a pregnant pause and the light bulb went on: “Why not use a food truck?” And the brainstorming commenced:
o After all, it’s really a kitchen on wheels
o And mobility is precisely what we need
o Think of where it can take us that we can’t go now
o We can brand it as the Farmington Country Club Food Truck
And they were right. This innovation was instantly recognizable as the country club food truck—a new way to deliver food service on the property. The driving range became the hot new lunch spot every Friday and Saturday. And there it was on the driving range at the member-only exclusive performance of the University of Virginia Marching Band. Twitter would announce its arrival—often with mouth-watering pictures of the country club truck fare like fish tacos and brisket sandwiches and kimchee hot dogs. As one tweet aptly punctuated it’s #notyourtypicalfoodtruck.
A balanced diet
There are some important lessons and emerging trends to take away from the Farmington experience. Let’s serve them up while they’re still piping hot:
Make food fun. At clubs, food is quintessentially a social experience, enjoyed in the company of friends and family.
Make food memorable. Club fare must be consistently excellent, but it needs to hold a distinctive place in the mind and hearts of members. Matarazzo likes to serve things with a twist.
Make food essential. Few events in the social nexus that clubs cultivate are complete without the addition of food and drink. When the best clubs consistently deliver great food in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, it’s a recipe for lasting memories.
Club Trends Fall 2015