Chef Patrick Wilson, PC-III, WCC, CCA, CEC, ACE, FMP

Patrick Wilson, PC-III, WCC, CCA, CEC, ACE, FMP, is the Executive Chef and House Manager at The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings On Hudson, N.Y. Dating to 1888, Saint Andrew’s is America’s oldest continuously existing golf club (1888) and a founding member of the United States Golf Association. Located 20 minutes from New York City, members and guests enjoy golf in a spectacular setting while playing one of the metropolitan area’s best-conditioned and more exciting layouts – a challenging par-71 layout that was redesigned as a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in 1983.

In the light and airy dining room of Saint Andrew’s turn-of-the-century clubhouse, Wilson and his food-and-beverage team offer lunch and dinner menus with offerings for all styles of food. Wilson recently changed the club’s menu to a two-sided presentation: one side for a more traditional menu called “Club Fare,” and the other for an a la carte-style menu called “Modern Fare.” Items on the Modern Fare menu are lower in price, smaller in portion, more healthful, and allow for quicker service. The Modern Fare menu also includes non-prime cuts of meat, such as Hanger Steak, Braised Short Ribs, Filet of Fluke/Sole, and Sushi-Grade Pan-Seared Tuna, served in non-traditional china platters and bowls.

To keep menus more healthful, Wilson thickens soups with rice, potatoes or purees, and does not use roux in anything. For sauces, he makes glazes through reductions to enhance flavor, and uses a variety of seasonings, dashi, vinegars and compounds. He personally makes all pastry in-house and features healthful grains like spelt, quinoa, wild rice, Basmati rice, polenta, cous cous, brown rice and spaetzli, to supplement heavier starches.

Under Wilson’s direction, Saint Andrew’s started a fixed-price special on Wednesday nights in July and August (normally slow months for the club), and the offer drove business and bar consumption up 400% during that period. Thursday nights have become  theme nights at the club, with special menu items for themes such as Bistro Night, Steak Night, Lobster Night, Italian Night, Sushi and Sashimi Night, German Night, North African Night, French Night and Mediterranean Night.

For private parties, corporate outings and tournaments as well as member dining, the Saint Andrew’s food and beverage team also takes full advantage of the sweeping and spacious new deck that is poised dramatically from the clubhouse and overlooks the spectacular topography of the golf course’s fourth hole.

Beyond his role as Executive Chef and House Manager, Wilson, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), is also a mentor for the Pro Chef Exam and has floor-judged the Pro Chef exams. He is also an Approved Practical Examiner for the American Culinary Federation, and as such is one of only two chefs in the world who has both completed the Pro Chef exams and is an ACF-approved examiner.

Wilson has earned numerous certifications and accolades during his career, including Pro Chef Levels 1, 2 and 3; ACF Competition Gold Medal Winner; New York Hotel/Motel Show “Best Fish Platter”; Certified Culinary Administrator; Certified Executive Chef; World Certified Chef; Food Management Professional, National Restaurant Association; and Approved Culinary Evaluator. He is currently an Approved Master Chef Candidate for the Certified Master Chef exam.

Wilson has cooked at the James Beard House and consulted in Shanghai, China at the Nine Dragons Resort on cooking for Western tourists. He has also demonstrated Western Pastry at the Szechwan Institute for Higher Learning in Chengdu, China.