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Media Coverage
The Calgary Herald, April 19, 2008 Gourmet Golf
Gourmet Golf Golf Courses are cooking up new, refined menus that change the ‘clubhouse’ perception By Joel Schlesinger Come for the golf and stay for the food. It’s a motto most golf courses across western Canada and the northwest United States have been doing their best to put into practice in recent years. While the clubhouse sandwich, burger and other traditional fare still have their role to play on golf course menus, it's increasingly common to see gourmet options offered both on the links and in the club house. “Golf courses in the past haven’t been known for fine dining experiences, for the most part,” says Chris Connell, executive chef at the Cottonwood Golf and Country Club, located less than a half hour’s drive south of Calgary. “We are trying to change that perception a little bit.” The Cottonwood’s restaurant menu offers golfers the standard items, but also entrées such as striped sea bass and grilled pheasant. As a private course, Connell says, it’s important for Cottonwood to change up the menu over the season. “Obviously, being a golf course, we still have our burgers and clubhouses, but we do offer a fine dining menu that we change over twice a month to keep it fresh and seasonal.” This includes plans for a golf and winetasting night featuring a four-course meal using fresh, local ingredients. More than anything, golf courses are increasingly focused on providing fresh, healthy food made with locally grown ingredients when possible. The Fairmont Hot Springs Resort recently overhauled its menu at its three courses in the Columbia Valley to offer a wider variety of sandwiches, appetizers and entrées. “There’s been an evolution with food and beverage along with the expectations of our guests,” says Guy Chartier, resort president. The resort recently hired a much-soughtafter husband-and-wife food and beverage team to revamp the menus for its three restaurants and at the caddy shack. “Bringing on the McCormacks has been a major coup,” Chartier says. Executive chef Adrian McCormack studied under Antony Worrall Thompson, celebrity chef and creator of The Food Network in the United Kingdom. His wife Lara brings her experience of managing the St. Andrews Links Clubhouse in Scotland — often home of the British Open — to Fairmont. “We’re really bringing the concept of summertime in the valley to what we serve,” Lara McCormack says. “It’s all about fresh fruits and vegetables, and good beer. You can’t forget that.” Each of the three restaurants at the resort will try to offer something familiar Among some of the more notable items includes a brie, balsamic vinegar and strawberry baguette, one of several sandwiches that will be offered at the Rockies Gastro-Pub and on the course itself. “We’re not just going to offer them ham and cheese out on the golf course,” says Lara McCormack.“Why can’t they have a selection of five or six different, fresh sandwiches?” Still, many courses, such as Fairmont, want to offer the good, old-fashioned golf standbys. “When we came onto the job, we were asked to offer three things: best coffee, best hot dog and best service, so that has been our focus as far as the golf course offerings go,” she says. The key difference from past years is the ingredients. The food may be familiar but by emphasizing quality, local ingredients — such as wine from the Okanagan, AAA Black Angus beef from Alberta and fresh fish from the West Coast — a course can become more than a golfing experience, Connell says. While the Cottonwood’s course is members only, the restaurant isn’t. As the menu expands, so does the clientele. It’s not just golfers who are making the trip out to the courses these days, he says. And Cottonwood isn’t alone. Many courses are becoming as well known for their menus as they are for their scenic vistas, challenging holes and finely manicured greens. “We’re trying to become a food destination rather than just grabbing something to eat on the way home from a round of golf,” he says. For additional information regarding the project, click on the logo:
Reprinted from Calgary Herald |
