As the post-COVID-19 membership boom has coincided with an acceleration of staffing shortages and the need to catch up on renovation projects that were put on hold during the pandemic, clubs’ food-and-beverage programs are being put to the test like never before.
Many clubs are trying to serve more members from support areas in both the front and back of the house that are no longer adequately sized or positioned to properly service dining areas that have been expanded—throughout the entire club property—to meet the need for added capacity.
As clubs seek to find new sources of service and kitchen help through initiatives such as visa and exchange programs, and as they ramp back up to plan major clubhouse and/or kitchen renovations that may still be several years from completion, here are some steps that have been taken to help provide more immediate solutions to the “nice problem” that has come with larger memberships, increased à la carte covers and the resumption of banquet business.
Kitchen Repurposing
While waiting (or hoping) for full-scale renovations to begin, clubs are rethinking how their existing kitchen space can be repurposed to provide greater efficiency and capacity for cooking, prep, storage and work areas. This often involves identifying those areas, particularly in kitchens in older buildings, that were originally created for purposes that are no longer needed and can now be used for important new aspects of F&B programs such as takeout, baking and pastry operations, cooking classes and chef’s tables.
Examples of these solutions have included:
- A club transitioning from a buffet-intensive program to a greater variety of full-service dining removed hot-hold wells and installed service windows in that area of the kitchen.
- An old dish-return area at another club was replaced with a new walk-in refrigerator, wait station and space that is now used for plating parties, with drop-down heat lamps and tables that roll into place. This club also took down a wall in a formerly separate room that had been used for prep to create a better flow for dropping off dirty dishes.
- To make room for 20 feet of prep tables for regular and bulk-food preparation, sinks and cooking equipment, a club relocated a walk-in refrigerator that had been positioned behind its hot line to a garage located next to its loading dock. Adding a walk-in freezer as well made the garage a better place for storage and greatly increased delivery efficiencies. Several clubs have rethought their chef’s counters to add features such as soup wells, bread warmers, cold rails for salad plates and even pasta cookers that help speed service by having the front-of-house staff get more-needed items directly. Steam tables are also being streamlined to create more landing areas for plating.
- Electrical whips are being positioned over prep tables to eliminate the need to plug devices into walls and make workspaces more efficient for tasks such as blending ingredients on stoves. And outdated equipment such as three-compartment sinks is being replaced to create stations for needed tools such as blenders and food processors, so they don’t have to be taken to and from individual workstations.
- To improve both the quality and efficiency of kitchen sanitation, tile floors are being replaced with seamless composite surfaces that are easier to clean, and single hand sinks that had to serve the entire kitchen are being replaced with several that are strategically located at various workstations.
In the clubhouse, new technology such as climate- controlled wine lockers with cooling units designed to maintain consistent temperatures and optimal humidity levels are helping bring new efficiency and features to both the club’s own wine program and for maintaining members’ personal collections.
This technology helps slow the aging process and chemical reactions to add to a wine’s complex aromas, characteristics, color and flavor. In addition, the lockers reduce the need for staff to run back and forth to a wine cellar and add a new touch of elegance to dining areas.
High-efficiency Equipment
Hand-in-hand with reimagining how their kitchens should now be set up to better meet the demands of today’s food-and-beverage operations, clubs are also aggressively exploring how new technology in kitchen equipment can help offset labor issues and expedite the process of cooking a greater volume of quality food faster and then serving it efficiently to a greater number of diners.
Many clubs have significantly improved their preparation and service performance while also improving their food quality and expanding their menu offerings through simple swap-outs of older and outdated equipment for state-of-the-art equipment that can include:
- Induction-warming drawers and other induction-heating and infrared-heating equipment.
- Ventless/hoodless cooking technology.
- Sous-vide and “speed” cooking.
- Combination (“combi”) convection and turbo ovens, preferably with built-in hood systems.
- CVAP low-temperature cook-and-hold ovens, both portable and larger.
- Pizza ovens, both countertop and wood-fired.
- Flattops, fryers and salamanders.
- High-temperature infrared broilers for steaks.
- Saute stations for pastas and seafood dishes.
- Programmable pressure cookers for meats and short ribs, as well as stocks for sauces.
- Pressure braising pans.
- New walk-in coolers and larger line coolers.
- Hot boxes and hot wells that can also be chilled.
- High-end plating tables specifically for larger events.
- High-efficiency dishwashers.
Food Trucks
Many clubs have discovered the value food trucks offer as a relatively inexpensive alternative kitchen as well as an eye-catching, mobile amenity that can be deployed through- out the property to bring special appeal and unique touches to both member and outside events.
After Medinah Country Club, Farmington Country Club and Ocean Reef Club led the way in introducing food trucks to the club scene, several other clubs recognized how they can help enhance their brands while also helping to alleviate staffing and service challenges.
Some notable examples of clubs that have introduced new touches to the concept include Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. and the Quechee Club in Vermont, which each prepare and serve wood-fired pizza from their food trucks (Carmel’s is a repurposed vintage 1947 truck, in a nod to the year the club was founded). In Wisconsin, the food truck at Sand Valley Resort features elevated “street foods” and even a signature cocktail.