A day of good weather brought different patterns of when people came to the members’ tent to eat—and they brought bigger appetites with them. That created the need for on-the-fly adjustments to the routine that the back-of-the-house staff has been trying to settle into.
Club & Resort Business Editor Joe Barks, “embedded” as a utility worker on the expanded kitchen staff of Merion Golf Club as the Ardmore, Pa., club hosts the U.S. Open Championship this week, will file behind-the–scenes reports after ending his 10-hour shifts providing whatever support is needed for the high-volume food operation in the members’ tent. Here are some of his impressions and insights after Tuesday’s practice round:
• A day of good weather brought different patterns of when people came to the members’ tent to eat—and they brought bigger appetites with them. That created the need for quick adjustments to the routine the back-of-the-house staff has been trying to settle into, to prepare for feeding members and their guests throughout the week.
Three things are proving critical to keep up with the unpredictable peak periods of demand: 1) as much advance preparation as possible (little things like pre-splitting sandwich buns or setting up a new row of packaging before it needs to be filled are proving to be huge); 2) versatility among the crew members, and a shared approach of quickly recognizing who will play what role as teams for various assembly-line tasks (making, packaging and putting finished menu items out for display) are formed on the fly; and 3) keeping a constant eye on consumption patterns, to help make snap decisions about what needs to be made next, and in what amount (our crew is preparing and restocking a steam-table display of eight menu items, including chicken fingers, french fries, crab cake sandwiches, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, and crab and avocado wraps).
• A special section for the Open published Sunday by The Philadelphia Inquirer included quotes from golfing notables, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino, about “Moments at Merion They Won’t Forget.” While most directed their praise to the golf course and club’s traditions, one respondent, Leigh Anne Creavy, who won the 1998 U.S. Girls Junior championship at Merion (as Leigh Anne Hardin), took the opportunity to throw accolades to its staff. “My fondest memories of Merion were the people there,” Creavy said. “Everyone—the members, the staff, the city—was so thrilled to host [the junior championship]. I felt like a queen for the week, as did the rest of the contestants.”
• Big lesson learned today: Pull the plastic wrap completely over the dish or tray you want to cover, before tearing it off from the box (and then trying to untangle an unwieldy mess). And special thanks to Paul O’Toole, Executive Culinary Officer, Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club, Newark, Del. (and two-time presenter at C&RB’s Chef to Chef Conference), who has been cooking menu specials in the members’ tent each day (chicken cheesesteaks on Monday, bow-tie pasta with shrimp and beef brisket on Tuesday), for kindly demonstrating a better knife-cutting style that would be a much safer way to preserve the fingers I need for my real day job.
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