How Our Club Menus Are Created

When you our members see the new seasonal menus in The Restaurant, Conference and Banqueting and The Bar a lot has already taken place in the kitchen to create the dishes and menus you are choosing. As soon as our new seasonal menus come into play, we are already thinking ahead to the next seasonal menus.

Products available within the seasons is clearly a key feature; will it be the quality we require, will it last the course and will you and your guests enjoy what we have created.

We start the process with The Club favourites that have been steadfast since my arrival and fear not, they will remain. Now you might think that the menus are all my work, when in fact this is very much a team effort. I discuss the new menu with my team in the kitchen, ideas are thrown back and forth and finally a list of products is agreed. This could be as simple as using chicken for a starter or pork for a main course. We then consider how we might cook and serve them, considering the season. You would not wish asparagus to appear on the menu in the winter! The same thinking is also needed for the style of dish, be it a light spring, summer dish or a heavier autumn or winter dish.

We then move to creating one-off dishes for sampling which may happen more than once, refining as we go. Does it do what we set out to achieve and follow the club food ethos of simply cooked, seasonal, quality, British food? The final say… is of course, mine! Once finalised a photograph is taken.

The recipe is initially written by the Chef who created the dish and then produce a recipe pack for all the team to follow, to ensure consistency of production throughout the season. Allergy information is a legal requirement and I document the details for all dishes. I break down each dish to its cost price calculate the selling price. Finally, put pen to paper constructing the various club menus including 11-12 starters, 11-12 main courses and 5-6 desserts and of course the buffet options that we have.

Once our new seasonal menus are launched, we start over.

So the seeds of what you are eating now took hold in May!

Enjoy Chef