If your club has made a serious commitment to an enhanced food-and-beverage experience for your members and guests, your executive chef should attend his or her own event.
It wasn’t a White Christmas for most of the Midwest and Northeast, but that didn’t stop many of us from thinking about sunny, warm California—and San Diego, in particular. Odds are pretty good you and I will be spending quite a bit of time there in February and early March.
The “events season” for the golf industry kicks off with the PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, January 26-29. This is a great way to start the year, to learn from well-conceived education sessions, connect with friends and golf aficionados, and see the newest merchandise, equipment, amenities and tools for your club and your game. Check it out at www.pgashow.com.
Schedules then get a bit hectic in February, and San Diego is the place to be.
The Golf Industry Show (GIS) runs February 6-11 at the San Diego Convention Center. A joint effort between the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), this show focuses on all things golf course- and turf-related. Attendees (mostly course superintendents and independent golf course owners) benefit from a high-quality agenda of education sessions and spending time with exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest in golf course equipment and supplies. You can check it out at www.golfindustryshow.com.
Next up is the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) 89th World Conference and Club Business Expo, scheduled for February 21-25 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina hotel complex. Club managers attend a broad range of continuing education sessions, network with peers from around the country, and spend time on the tradeshow floor checking out a full range of products and services for the clubhouse, golf course and athletic/fitness facilities. Details are available at www.cmaa.org.
(Publisher’s note: There was a time, albeit a brief one, when the GIS and CMAA conferences and events were co-located. For a variety of reasons, the “marriage” was annulled after three short years. Reconciliation makes sense, but that is fodder for another column.)
Last, not least—and certainly my favorite event of the year—is the 8th Annual Chef to Chef Conference presented by Club & Resort Business, scheduled for February 28 – March 2 at the very same Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. Your golf pro will have attended his event, your superintendent his, and you yours. If your club has made a serious commitment to an enhanced food-and-beverage experience for members and guests, your executive chef should also attend his or her own event (F&B directors and club managers are welcome to attend, too).
The Chef to Chef Conference is a peer-to-peer information exchange. Content is idea-driven and prepared and presented by club chefs from around the country. Attendees receive American Culinary Federation continuing education credits and benefit from extensive networking time with other club chefs and vendors serving the club market.
We expect up to 300 chefs to be with us in San Diego, and about half of them will have attended one or more of the previous conferences. Your chef will appreciate the opportunity to attend and learn, and will come back to the club loaded with ideas and inspiration, along with a heightened level of commitment to foodservice excellence. To register, go to www.CheftoChefConference.com.
See you in San Diego.
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