Summing It Up
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Buffets at clubs and resorts are becoming ever-more elaborate and entertaining productions-starring food that rivals anything guests could order from the menu.
Cue the lights and the music. Curtain up. Let the buffet begin! Upping the wow factor of buffet-style setups doesn’t have to be a budget-breaker, say club and resort chefs.While fresh, high-quality ingredients are always key, creative presentation and ambiance can stimulate guests and members’ imaginations, as well as their appetites.
Last New Year’s Eve, diners at La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif., were whisked to exotic Morocco, with a themed meal that included harira, a traditional tomato and lentil soup; roasted eggplant salad; couscous; sea bass with charmoula (a flavorful marinade and sauce made with lemon, garlic and cumin); and tagine-style chicken, spiced with cinnamon and curry, made golden with turmeric, and stewed to fork tenderness.
Executive Chef Rudy Campuzano hadn’t cooked Moroccan food before. So he made the rounds of local restaurants that did, familiarized himself with the classic ingredients and flavors, scoured magazines and the Internet for recipes, and determined which locally available ingredients would give him the most bang for his buck.
Attendees knew they were in for something unusual when they walked into the dining room and saw tables draped with lush purple and red linens and set with feathery floral arrangements. Dramatic lighting in lush hues was achieved by using inexpensive colored gels (heat-resistant transparent film that fits over light fixtures).
“By making simple changes in our regular décor, a ‘Moroccan mindset’ was created to heighten the meal experience, ” says Campuzano.
For Sunday brunch, Campuzano switches the “party” atmosphere of themenight buffets to a pampering, home-style experience, complete with roaring fire and staffers who anticipate the preferences of regulars for whom this meal is a weekly must. Featured comfort foods include made-to-order omelets and waffles. And carvedto- order prime rib and ham stations provide opportunities for guest/staff interaction.
Music is another effective mood modifier, particularly when the performance is live. Local musicians, such as students at local colleges, can provide economical entertainment options, Campuzano suggests. Surprise Packages
But it doesn’t always take glamour to grab attention. Stuart Brennan, Executive Chef at Boca Lago Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., says a Philly cheesesteak station is one of the most popular parts of his lunch buffet.
“Many of our members are snow-season residents who also have homes up north; they appreciate it when we recreate some of their favorite classic dishes,” Brennan notes. “The important thing is to provide authentic flavors and—in the case of the cheesesteak roll—textures.”
Buffet buffs also like it when Boca Lago chefs “show their chops” at the salad bar, turning what could be a typical parade of produce into elegant, easily-eaten strips and shreds. Brennan also offers seafood, poultry and other entrée worthy proteins, along with greens and other accoutrements for diners who want to build an entire meal around custom designed chopped salads.
A little gift-wrapped surprise can make any meal a special occasion. That’s one of the reasons Sheilah O’Leary, Food and Beverage Director and Executive Chef at Anglebrook Golf Club in Lincolndale,N.Y., likes to include filets of herbed fresh fish and steamed julienne-sliced veggies, individually bundled in parchment paper, among her buffet offerings.
“The packages are extremely easy for us to serve and for guests to handle,” O’Leary explains. “They make an intriguing presentation, the food stays steaming hot, and guests love to break open the packages at their tables and get the full effect of the fragrance and colors of the dish.”
Themed buffets, such as the one above that was orchestrated by Boca Lago CC Executive Chef Stuart Brennan, are becoming popular ways to introduce new menu items.
Another easy addition that adds major buffet buzz is O’Leary’s ice cream sundae bar.Originally positioned as a treat for kids, Anglebrook’s buildyour- own dessert station has proved to be a multi generational hit.
In addition to four or five flavors of ice cream (she now uses an outside supplier, but is looking to buy an ice cream maker so she can create some signature selections of her own), along with the usual array of nuts, sprinkles and freshly whipped cream, O’Leary provides grown-up garnishes such as homemade hot fudge, cherries marinated in Grand Marnier, and strawberries macerated in a balsamic vinegar reduction.
Martini glasses lend another sophisticated touch, as does an ice cream parlor-style custom mix-in station, where chefs working at marble slabs fold candies, fruit and nuts into each guest’s favorite flavor. “There’s never a lull around the ice cream station,” O‘Leary says.
Stretching the Budget
Buffets also allow skilled chefs to minimize waste and maximize use of limited quantity and expensive ingredients. Brennan, for instance, covers a wheel of brie with Maine lobster meat and caramelized onions, wraps the whole thing in puff pastry, and has his buffet servers slice and plate the resulting cheese en croute for each guest.
“Having staff members serve this dish keeps it looking neat and appetizing, and ensures that everyone gets a taste of all of the ingredients in each slice,” he notes.
At his daily lunch buffets, Daniel Pliska, Executive Chef at the University Club of MU in Columbia, Mo., tries to cross-utilize costly catering and banquet ingredients such as lobster, crab and shrimp, by turning limited-quantity items into small-plate appetizers.
Savory tarts are a favorite preparation of Pliska’s. Built on foundations of flaky pâté brisée, custards rich with goat and cream cheese and layered with flavorful roasted garlic and basil purée are topped with tea-smoked duck and smoked tomato relish. The jam-like basil purée, Pliska notes, can also be combined with butter or whipped cream cheese, rolled up in soft lavash and cut into pinwheels, or used to spike cream and pasta sauces.
“One pound of crab can make a lot of appetizer- size savory pastries and add upscale appeal to a buffet,” he says.
From his on-property butcher shop, Pliska gets an ongoing supply of high-quality, prime-cut meat trimmings, which he transforms into fresh country pâtés, terrines and antipasti for buffets. Traditionally underutilized parts such as duck thighs can be stuffed, smoked and sliced, and livers can be made into mousse parfaits to serve with toasted brioche. Extra vegetables can be marinated for colorful salads and sides.
Pliska operates his buffets by the theory of “economies of scope,” which calls for “constantly tweaking our core recipes to get a wider variety of dishes, so our members and guests always have something new and exciting to try.” Mixing up the presentations also keeps costs under control, allowing him to offer three distinctively different entrees, plus a starch and vegetables, on his daily lunch buffet for $10.95.
“If I have a solid protein such as roast sirloin or leg of lamb, I’ll also do a less protein-intensive— and therefore les
s expensive—ragout with lots of vegetables or a lasagna,” he says. Although the University Club dining room offers an à la carte menu as well, “75% of members and guests order the buffet,” Pliska says.
Increasing the Action
Because today’s diners are excited by buffets that offer lots of little dishes (often referred to as small plates or by the Spanish designation, tapas), Brennan has added action stations to his buffets, and now often has as many as four. Each small plate is a fully sauced and garnished entrée in miniature, such as petit osso bucco with soft polenta and a sprig of rosemary; boneless lamb loin sliced with wild mushroom Israeli couscous and mint syrup; or smoked duck breast with blueberry coulis, gorgonzola spoon bread, duck cracklings and micro-greens.
To catch guests’ eyes and speed service, Boca Lago chefs continually plate and garnish the appetizer-size selections, placing them on a carving board display for easy and quick pick-up.
Diners like to see action stations because “they perceive the food to be fresher,” Campuzano notes; in addition, staff members find the interaction with guests stimulating. Another advantage is that dishes can be customized for members and guests who have particular dietary preferences or restrictions. “Everyone wants to, and should, feel included in the party,” he says.
For diners who don’t want to wait for their dishes to be prepared à la minute, Campuzano also keeps some preassembled small plates ready for immediate pickup. And at his pasta stations, a prepared sauce, such as tomato ragout, is kept in a chafing dish for do-it-yourselfers.
Using the same opening staff each week for his Sunday brunch buffets also yields savings in time and labor costs for Campuzano. “We use the same set-up, which we diagram prior to the beginning of the season, each week,” he reports. “As the season progresses, the staff members increase their speed and proficiency. Eventually, instead of two hours, they only need one to set up.”
University Club of MU Lunch Buffet Menu Examples
By Chef Daniel PliskaMenu 1 Seafood Market Chowder Beef Goulash Roast Duck with Kiln-Dried Cherry Sauce Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo with Rotini Pasta Green Beans Amandine Spaghetti Squash with Garlic Butter Menu 2 Cream of Mushroom Soup Roasted Pork Loin with Fire-Roasted Apples and Brandy Sauce Stuffed Meatloaf with Asiago Cheese and Spinach Herb Couscous Whiskey Molasses-Glazed Acorn Squash Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter Menu 3 New England Clam Chowder Pan-fried Trout with Baby Shrimp and Caper Butter Berkshire Pork Belly and Roasted Sirloin Duo Risotto with Garlic Cream Sauce Roasted Root Vegetables with Jack Daniels Glaze Asparagus with Balsamic Port Wine Reduction |
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