The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 course provides a systematized way of learning about and tasting wine, focusing on practical, hands-on knowledge and designed to build a foundation for future exploration. The course will introduce chefs to the basics of wine, broad different styles, simple storage and service rules, and easy techniques for pairing wine with various foods. The day will be broken into two parts with tastings and lunch. The day will end with the WSET Level 1 Wine exam. Upon successful completion, chefs will receive a WSET certificate and a lapel pin by mail from WSET. Limited Capacity: 40

The 2023 Chef to Chef Conference will include the second-ever Club Tour, giving attendees a unique opportunity to get an up-close, exclusive look at the food-and-beverage operation inside the legendary Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla.

This special, limited club tour is only available to 35 attendees. The tour includes luxury bussing from Miami to Ocean Reef. Upon arrival, attendees will meet with the club’s vice presidents, chefs and executive leadership team, who will kick off the tour with an insightful look at the club's daily operations.

From there, attendees will break into smaller groups for an educational golf cart tour of Ocean Reef’s culinary operation and restaurants. Each group will be guided by one of the property’s chefs to ensure personal, one-on-one time with Ocean Reef’s culinary professionals.

Each group will spend 25 minutes at the following restaurants:
- Islander / Beach Area / Palm Court Cantina
- Ocean Room / Reef Lounge & Lobby
- Clubhouse / Grille
- Commissary - Banquet / Pastry / Garde Manger
- Fishing Village / Gianni / Raw Bar / Burgee

The Ocean Reef Club Tour will conclude with a Keys Style Beach BBQ Dinner attendees won’t soon forget, featuring some of Ocean Reef’s most popular food stations.

Presented by Aussie Beef & Lamb

Staying a step ahead of the club guest, anticipating their needs and wants and getting to that “wow” moment is a constant challenge. It takes a mix of innovation, outstanding product and back of house savvy, and of course the storytelling to make it sing. Aussie Lamb & Beef Chef Adam Moore is here to help, with smart cut-utilization strategies, consumer insights and of course menu inspiration for sustainable beef and lamb from Down Under.

Presented by DTG (Definitive Technology Group, LLC)

Today’s chefs and dining service operators need to get creative with not only the food and beverages they prepare, but also in how they are delivered. Consumers are increasingly looking for creative culinary experiences, and this is an opportunity for restaurants, hotels, and resorts to elevate their food and beverage offerings and bring them where the consumers are – in parks, at events, private office parties, or simply in plein air outside your restaurant or resort. Yet, the challenge has been having access to sufficient power to prepare and store food, keep beverages icy cold and deliver high-end barista-quality coffee and bar services.

This session demonstrates how you can mobilize the dining experience to increase revenue without sacrificing quality, shares key things to consider before mobilizing operations, provides insight on how to find the best locations to take advantage of events and foot traffic and highlights strategies for creating frictionless sales.

Presented by KK&W
Lawrence Mc Fadden CMC and Annette Whittley representatives of Kuebler and Wallace places some of the top Executive Chefs in the private club industry. On any given year, Annette and Lawrence speak with or interview hundreds of industry professionals. These clients and their organizations share views and techniques on what it takes to be a World Class Executive Chef. This seminar will explore those views, discuss the norms of the title as well as shine light on characteristics that make some chefs elite. This is a not to be missed seminar on the future skills set of any culinary professional.

Presented by Rational
The course will be the introduction to customization, flexibility and individualization of the I-Combi Pro and I Vario Pro. In this course we will also introduce ConnectedCooking and how club chefs may use our online platform to create, and find inspiration for Club specific recipes.

Presented by Triar Seafood
Join Fritz Gitschner CMC, Robert Meitzer Chef to Chef 2022 Chef of the Year, Adam Deviney Exec Chef The Country Club of North Carolina and Chris Lynch Exec Chef Atchafalaya New Orleans as they discuss the changing tides of the domestic seafood industry. Topics to include scientific data relative to species allocations (recreational vs commercial), post pandemic sourcing challenges in today’s market, broadliners vs true fishmongers – how they affect Chefs selections and NGO’s political influence on commercial harvests. Moderated by Pete Jarvis President/CEO Triar Seafood Co and Chairman of the Board of Southeastern Fisheries Association.”

Presented by Northstar
Efficiency is the name of the game. Managing resources at hand to maximize output is a key ingredient for success. Technology is helping shape how F&B operations run and provide their customers with the best experience. In this interactive session, you will learn how to utilize powerful digital tools purpose-built for restaurants of varying complexities. The focus will be on technologies that can help you capitalize on your assets to save you from potential liabilities. Streamline all aspects of your F&B operations, linking reservations, table-side ordering with member preferences, online orders, and self-service tabletop ordering experience, funneling through an intuitive and truly integrated capacity-management function. Take full control of inflow, so your kitchen and restaurant are always at the top of their game.

Presented by The Montague Company
The Montague Company has been an industry leader for over 150 years in heavy-duty cooking equipment, most of which has revolved around natural gas and propane-fueled products. Today, Montague is preparing for a different world, one in which electric-fired equipment is the dominant modality for design, use and productivity in the modern commercial kitchen. We invite you to participate in a discussion about how these changes are coming about and what it means to you, the club and resort chef, in the near and mid-term future. Considerations for special layout, equipment selection, hood compatibility, infrastructure requirements and the need for self-sufficiency will all be discussed. Get ready for the future because it is coming! We hope you take the time to add to this very important conversation.

Presented by C&T Design and Equipment Co.
In this session, C&T Design, a foodservice equipment dealer offering design and installation services, discusses supply chain issues and ways they are dealing with them to minimize delays for clients.

Presented by CresCor
Catering, both on-premises and off-premise, is one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. foodservice industry and has enjoyed success and expansion over the years. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) notes that catering and take-out sales will generate considerable growth in U.S. foodservice sales throughout the foreseeable future. Everyday thousands of business and social groups get together for their members to enjoy each other’s company at a variety of outdoor locations. Whether it is by the pool – on a golf course – or just on the patio - groups generally prefer professionally prepared and served food and beverages. The key is to make sure the prepared food is kept safe for serving – cold or hot. This allows hosts to concentrate on their personal, social, and business activities, simultaneously enjoying the events.

The challenge is how to do so with many electrical challenges in these outdoor nontraditional locations. Cres Cor will show you some unique ways how to serve your best off premise in this informative session.

The keynote address, presented by Chef Patrick O’Connell, will explore the unlikely journey of a self-taught chef who turned liabilities into strengths. Chef O’Connell will offer his unique perspective on cuisine, service and operations while inspiring attendees to never underestimate the power of good food.

Every day is a do-over and every morning is an opportunity to start with renewed positivity and perspective. During this session, Chef and Transformational Life Coach Mike Matarazzo will share his strategies for incorporating mindset calibration and self-awareness into a morning routine. Attendees will experience firsthand its beneficial impact on performance and health.

Certified Sommelier and Club Manager Elisha Cicerone, CCM, and Executive Chef Scott Craig, WCMC, will challenge chefs to look at pairings from a fresh perspective. They’ll dive into the secrets and science behind what makes a perfect pairing and share strategies for crafting deliberate and memorable menus that allow the food and drink to enhance the flavor of the other.

Member demand for house-made breads, desserts and other baked goods is soaring, but most culinary teams are limited in time and ability. Executive Pastry Chef Mellisa Root will make a case for clubs to consider hiring a skilled pastry chef who can develop a dynamic and expansive pastry program catered to an operation's unique needs. She will reveal the cost and financial gains when clubs invest in pastry and explain how this investment will enhance the member and guest experience while contributing to the bottom line.

Executive Chef Andrew Haapala will share techniques and tricks he uses to provide the membership of The Country Club of Virginia with upscale banquet experiences. This session will cover menu creation and presentation for events ranging from wine tastings to board dinners. Chef Haapala will also delve into station set-up, equipment choices, and safe food storage to ensure events are beautiful and run smoothly.

When club chefs are part of the executive team and the house and food-and-beverage committees, it can significantly impact and benefit a club’s culinary operation. In this session, Keith Armstrong and J. Kevin Walker, CMC, will discuss the importance of having the Executive Club Chef involved in club governance. They will share applicable techniques, tools, and skills to help chefs elevate their operations from an executive level.

It's the prelude to the meal, an introduction to the chef, and a taste of what's to come. Starters, hors d'oeuvres and small plates play an essential role in creating the kind of dining experience that keeps members coming back. Executive Chef Scott Ryan will demo several of his standout dishes, showcasing how they are creative yet approachable, whimsical yet sophisticated and inspiring and distinct.

Developing and maintaining relationships is a tricky task for management in any industry, let alone in an environment as intense as a club kitchen and dining room. Establishing strong communication procedures, regularly engaging with staff, and adjusting the organizational approach can play a part in avoiding unnecessary or longstanding friction. In this session, Perry Kenney, CCM, and Michael Meuse will share strategies for creating harmonious and synchronous relationships between FOH and BOH staff.

Attendees will get to sip, sample and socialize inside the Time Out Market Miami, which includes 17 kitchens, 3 bars and vendors like Pho Mo, modern Vietnamese by the heralded team behind Miami’s Phuc Yea restaurant, 33 Kitchen, which serves flavorful, traditional Peruvian fare and Miami’s one-of-a-kind Azucar ice cream. (Please note: Transportation will not be provided for this event.)

Every day is a do-over and every morning is an opportunity to start with renewed positivity and perspective. During this session, Chef and Transformational Life Coach Mike Matarazzo will share his strategies for incorporating mindset calibration and self-awareness into a morning routine. Attendees will experience firsthand its beneficial impact on performance and health.

Club and resort chefs are re-imagining plant-based and “clean” options to create beautiful, balanced and innovative dishes for members and guests. In this session, Chef Andrea Mallon-Griffith will explore the science behind plant-based, clean and organic eating trends. She will demo a series of dishes focused on vegetables and fruits that do double duty, supporting local farmers while showcasing the chef's creativity.

A well-researched, strategically outlined budget is imperative for any club culinary program. But working through the nuances of the club dynamic, where members expect prices to stay stagnant despite rising costs and simultaneously expect greater value for events, can be challenging. In this session, Chef William Rogers will discuss how a comprehensive plan, good communication, creative menu-writing, and savvy plating techniques can help chefs maximize menu potential while eliminating waste and over-spending.

Culinary Olympians and Executive Club Chefs Geo Lanez with The Patterson Club and Michael Shannon with the Somerset Club will discuss how they leverage culinary competitions to teach and inspire their culinary teams. They will demo how they use practice sessions to build menu items, elevate their team's technical abilities and mentor new and novice cooks.

This session will guide attendees through developing a hive-to-table program. Chef Leonardi will touch on sustainability and recipe development while explaining how club chefs can work with many of the resources already on-property to begin beekeeping and honey harvesting. He’ll offer best culinary practices and show how rewarding an on-property apiary can be for the culinary team and membership.

Pre-registration required

In this hands-on extended workshop, Chef Ryan Peters will discuss the unique distinction a handmade artisan pasta program can bring to a club’s culinary operation. He will cover the theory of pasta-making, current pasta trends, how to use an extruder, how pasta can help with food costs and more. Attendees will be assigned to stations throughout the room for the hands-on portion, where each team of partners will get to create their volcano of dough and shape various forms.

Delve into the world of confectionery under the guidance of pastry chef Jeffrey Munchel. In this session, attendees will learn the art of tempering chocolate and how to cast it into candy bar molds. He will demonstrate pâte de fruit, chocolate bonbons, salted caramel filling, and a simple chocolate bar with toasted nuts and dried fruits.

As clubs struggle to recruit cooks, servers, and staff, many are exploring ways to make their business fairer and more humane. In this session, Executive Chef Rhy Waddington will share Palmetto Bluff Club’s strategy for creating a career culture for its culinary team, with commission-based incentives, staff housing, and more.

Pastry Chef Laura Herman will share her dessert menu-writing strategy from Shoreacres where she uses classic desserts to help drive sales. She will demo a variety of stunning dessert plate-ups while offering sound production tips using many existing tools from club pastry kitchens. She will also offer insights into how a club pastry department can assist in lowering food costs and boost sales in unique ways.

Many chefs and culinary teams struggle to address mental health challenges. In this session, chefs will learn from an industry support specialist how to talk to struggling colleagues and establish a plan, learn strategies for fostering resilience, implement a staff check-in system, and more.

During an afternoon cocktail reception on Tuesday, March 7th four club chef competitors will face off in the annual Club + Resort Chef of the Year mystery basket-style culinary competition. Each chef will have 60 minutes to prepare and plate two dishes: an entrée and a small plate. The chefs will have access to an extensive spread of ingredients, equipment and plateware. They will receive a detailed list of the available equipment and ingredients in advance. The winner will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize, a feature in the September issue of Club + Resort Chef and a seat on C+RC‘s Editorial Advisory Board.

The 2023 Chef to Chef Conference will concluded with a Sponsor Raffle, with winners drawn from the business cards attendees will drop into bowls at the sponsors’ display tables.