From our kitchen to yours

North Berwick Golf Club’s Head Chef Jarek Lisiecki has spent more than 20 years treating discerning diners to the finest cuisine, leading kitchen brigades and creating signature dishes at some of the nation’s best restaurants, such as Archerfield House. Constantly innovating, he delivers truly exquisite menus and engaging events so we can guarantee a truly worldclass culinary experience for Members and guests.

One of the most popular dishes on our summer menu is the classic Caesar Salad. Jarek explains the history behind this popular dish and reveals everything you need to know to recreate a super salad at home.

I’m sure you’ve seen Caesar Cardini, the Caesar salad dressing, on the shelves of your local supermarket? Well, in my mind it is simply the best dressing on offer.

But what about the man behind the bottle, Caesar Cardini? An Italian immigrant, he set up restaurants in the USA and in Mexico.

And it was on July 4, 1924, that he invented the Caesar Salad in his Tijuana restaurant. Cardini’s kitchen was running out of food, so he was forced to came up with this delicious salad on the spot, using only what he could find at hand.

A showman at heart, he created what would become his signature salad table-side for extra theatre and flair!

We have this salad only on our summer menu because we like to source locally-grown cos lettuce.

Obviously, you can get ingredients at any time of the year, but for me and for North Berwick Golf Club it’s very important to be seasonal and to source as locally as much as we can – and, I think everyone agrees, this dish tastes so much better that way!

We make as much as possible from scratch right here in our kitchen. Of course, this means one of the many dressings we make totally in-house is our Caesar dressing.

Thankfully, this is quite simple to make at home. All you need is a good quality free range egg mayonnaise. This is not difficult to make yourself but you can opt to purchase a good examlpe from your local delicatessen or supermarket.

To the mayonnaise add finely grated parmesan, a touch of crushed garlic and a chopped anchovy fillet. At the Club we like to add a touch of white pepper, a hint of sugar and a squeeze of lemon for freshness. The lemon adds balance to the saltiness of the parmesan and anchovies and helps to thin the dressing.

In a large bowl, add the cos lettuce, a pinch of salt and the black pepper, then toss the leaves to coat them in the seasoning. Add the dressing and toss the leaves again until they are all coated. Add croutons and finely grated parmesan and toss until all are combined. Plate up, eat as it is or add your favourite topping of grilled chicken, prawns or bacon.

It really is that simple… enjoy!

A date for your diary

Date: Friday, August 18th

Nose to Tail –

Classic Hog Roast

Please keep a watch on the weekly emails for more details on how to get involved.

A date for your diary

Friday, September 8th Wine Dinner

Please keep a watch on the weekly emails for more details on how to get involved.