Chef to Chef 2011 Agenda
The Fairmont, San Francisco, March 6-8, 2011
Sunday, March 6
12 Noon – 6 PM: Arrival/Registration
6 PM: Opening reception and sit-down, plated dinner.
Welcoming remarks and sponsor recognition—Dan Ramella, President, Club & Resort Business
Conference Keynote Address: Culinary Trends No Chef Can Afford to Ignore
Monday, March 7
7:00-8:00 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00-9:00 AM: Session 1 — Sustainable Foods Are Here to Stay
Presented by David M. Scalise, Executive Chef, Sawgrass Golf Resort and Spa, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Call it local, seasonal, organic or farm-to-table, clubs and resorts can’t ignore the trend to incorporate fresher, more healthy food options into their menus on a year-round basis–not only to do a better job of capturing and incorporating the most distinctive flavors of a region, but also to demonstrate more responsible procurement practices for all foods and ingredients, no matter where they’re sourced. This session will show how to make sustainability an effective and ingrained practice in any food and beverage program, no matter what the setting, customer profile, or operating budget.
9:00-10:00 AM: Session 2 — Understanding Food Costs and F&B Financials
Presented by Charles Kehrli, CEC, Executive Chef, The Yale Club of New York City, New York, N.Y.
Every club and resort F&B operation—from the simplest snack-bar setup to the most elaborate fine-dining offer—is under the gun like never before, not just to get a better handle on food costs, but to squeeze out every possible percentage point while continuing to raise the bar on culinary quality.
To highlight the decisions that can have a significant impact on a property’s final food cost numbers, this session will offer critical financial perspectives and considerations as attendees are walked through these steps that are part of a chef’s regular routine:
- menu planning and engineering
- purchasing of both ingredients and equipment, individually and through distributors and buying groups and programs
- staffing and kitchen management, and hitting budgeted labor cost percentages
- food preparation, and dealing with leftovers and waste
- special considerations for wine and beverage programs
In the process, attendees will learn how to recognize, and deal with, the tradeoffs that are often created between doing what’s best for the bottom line, and providing the culinary quality, variety, excitement and distinction that members and guests expect.
10:00-10:15 AM: Break and Sponsor Table Visits
10:15-11:15 AM: Session 3 — Serving Up the Best Hors d’Oeuvres and Appetizers (Demonstration Session)
Presented by Olivier Andreini, CMC, Executive Chef, Merion Cricket Club, Haverford, Pa.
Nothing can get either regular a la carte dining or special banquet events off to a better start than a variety of tempting and unusual appetizers and hors d’oeuvres that members and guests can’t make, or get, anywhere else. In this session, attendees will see a step-by-step demonstration of how to prepare and plate a variety of proven “opening act” winners. In the process, they will also learn how to help their properties properly promote that variety and excitement as a key part of that catering sales efforts that can help land more lucrative wedding and banquet business. (Recipes for all demonstrated dishes will be provided in Conference materials.)
11:15 AM-12:15 PM: Session 4 — Profiting from an In-House Pastry Operation -Even When There’s No Pastry Chef On Staff (Demonstration Session)
Presented by Francisco Migoya, Associate Professor, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.
Even without a pastry chef on staff, club and resort properties can still find ways to bring real and appealing distinction by adding easy, effective and seasonal quickbreads, fresh pastries and other tempting desserts (custards, puddings, fruit tarts, etc.) that can be rotated through their menus on a regular basis. This session will walk attendees through the steps needed to be able to prepare a variety of popular dessert items as part of regular kitchen operations that can then be used to help upsell and increase check averages. Four different desserts—two a la carte and two reception-style—that can fit into practically any kitchen environment will be demonstrated, with step-by-step instructions, to cover a range of methods and techniques that are easy to understand, execute and replicate. (Recipes for all demonstrated dishes will be provided in Conference materials.)
12:15-12:30 PM: Sponsor Table Visits
12:30 PM-1:30 PM: Lunch prepared by the award-winning culinary team at The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel
1:30-1:45 PM: Sponsor Table Visits
1:45-3:00 PM: Session 5 — “Chef to Chef Live”
A “live” version of Club & Resort Business’ popular “Chef to Chef” feature, during which Jerry Schreck, Executive Chef of Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa., and other Conference speakers will lead an audience discussion of key topics affecting all aspects of culinary quality and performance in club and resort settings. Specific discussion topics will include:
- Establishing a true and unique F&B identity for your property
- How to make both the Front and Back of the House look good – at the same time!
- Off-season planning: approaches and techniques that stick
- Finding, and tapping, new sources of creative energy
- Effective communications techniques to make those old habits not only die hard, but quickly
- Catching the train on changing culinary trends (before it’s completely left the station)
- The Organization Men (and Women)—Building a permanent structure for your kitchen, and your people
- Change is Good—When, and how, to reconfigure equipment, change décor, revamp buffet setups
- Recipe research: Finding what you need and using what you find
- Facilities Maintenance: The best ways to save costs while staying safe and clean
- Hiring & Training: Effective approaches for doing more than just “filling the hole”
6:00 PM: Reception with Heavy Hors D’Oeuvres and Cocktails (Evening kept free for dinner in San Francisco area)
Tuesday, March 8
7:00-8:00 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00-9:00: Session 6 — Great Expectations: What Club GMs Expect from Their Chefs—and What Chefs Want, and Need, in Return
Presented by John Wright, ECM, General Manager/COO, Norwood Hills Country Club, St. Louis, Mo.
A general manager from a prominent club and resort property that has earned real distinction for its food and beverage program will outline the skills, competencies, attitudes and performance expectations—both day-to-day and long-term—that are now essential for success in an Executive Chef role today. A leading Executive Chef will then provide a candid assessment, based on professional experience, of what’s needed to create a working environment that allows these expectations to be met—and what chefs must be prepared to do when encountering roadblocks to their success. Both speakers will then participate in a question-and-answer discussion with the audience.
9:00-10:00 AM: Session 7 — Creating Distinctive Dining Destinations
Presented by Charles Kingsbaker, Director of Sales and Marketing, and Dean C. Ecker, Food and Beverage Director/Executive Chef, Black Butte Ranch, Oregon.
This session will provide the how-to details behind the success stories club and resort properties that have elevated their food-and-beverage programs far beyond “loss leader” status to become a consistently strong draw for guests and members—and one of the most profitable parts of the operation. In many cases, the key has been the creation of truly unique dining concepts that have quickly set off a “you’ve got to go there” buzz not only among the ranks of existing member or guest populations, but throughout the community at large.
This session will highlight how any type of property—from modest daily-fees to the most exclusive and upscale operations—can use strong F&B programs to be positioned as go-to locations, whether or not activities such as golf, tennis or swimming might also be part of the appeal. The presentation will include exploration of these important issues:
- How to position and market club dining against all types of public competition
- Using the strong edge that many properties can develop in wine and beverage expertise to full advantage
- Extending the reach of an F&B program through takeout and catering
- The “minimum dilemma” – do food minimums hold back an F&B program, or help to provide an essential base to build on?
- Managing the many types of menus now needed to satisfy demand for a wider variety of dining venues and food options
- Striking the right balance between controlling food costs and ensuring culinary quality while meeting diners’ expectations for ample variety
- Maintaining the flexibility to stay in step with emerging culinary trends
10:00-10:15 AM: Break and Sponsor Table Visits
10:15-11:15 AM: Session 8 — Upscale Casual Dining: Giving Everyone What They Want (Demonstration Session)
Presented by Michael Matarazzo, Executive Chef, Bear Mountain Inn, Rye Brook, N.Y.
No club or resort can ignore the growing demand for lighter, healthier and more casual, restaurant-quality cuisine that members and guests now expect to find on the menu in every dining venue, and for every meal occasion. At the same time, many diners still see club properties as their go-to place for proven and popular signature favorites they’re not likely to find in public restaurants. Here too, though, expectations have changed, to now look for new flavor enhancements or presentation innovations for even the most traditional fare. This session will feature preparation of both contemporary and classic dishes that can help to meet, and satisfy, all of these changing diners’ demands. (Recipes for all demonstrated dishes will be provided in Conference materials.)
11:15 AM-12:15 PM: Session 9 — Memorable and Successful Events: It’s All in the Preparation (Demonstration Session)
Presented by Gary Wigand, Executive Chef, Whistling Straits, Sheboygan, Wis., and Paul Smitala, Executive Chef, Blackwolf Run, Kohler, Wis.
A complete walk-through, built around demonstrations of creative menu items that have been part of especially successful efforts at club and resort properties, of what’s needed to plan and execute truly special events that feature unique and memorable dishes—either for one-time “theme” occasions, or as incorporated into ongoing banquet and wedding offers. The session will highlight the sound logistical plans required for efficient meal plating as the key to successful management of any event. (Recipes for all demonstrated dishes will be provided in Conference materials.)
12:15-12:30 PM: Sponsor Table Visits
12:30 PM-1:30 PM: Lunch
1:30-1:45 PM: Sponsor Table Visits
1:45-3:00 PM: Session 10 — “Let’s Solve Your Problems—And Everyone Else’s”
A unique workshop setup, during which Conference attendees will be divided into teams to devise, under the direction of team leaders from among the Conference speakers, solutions for specific, “real world” problems from club and resort culinary operations. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit problems that they would like to have addressed in this workshop when registering for the Conference, and others will be devised by Conference speakers, based on their own experiences and the “Chef to Chef Live” discussion of the previous day.
3:00-3:15 PM: Presentation of certificates/adjournment
