FOOD + BEVERAGE
New Sources o The combination of COVID and winter’s cold have cranked up cravings for familiar, hearty foods. But members are expecting a more elevated style of their favorite fare, and their clubs’ chefs are delivering. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Contributing Editor
IT’S COLD IN READING, PA. in January, just the time when diners are looking for some real stick-toyour-ribs dishes, such as braised short ribs or chicken and waffles. At Berkshire Country Club in Reading, Executive Chef Bradley Fisher, CEC, CCA, adds his own upscale twists to these favorites. His braised short ribs with a Zinfandel and wild cherry reduction are accompanied by whipped Gorgonzola potatoes and haricots verts. The buttermilk fried chicken and waffles are smothered in white gravy, Colby Jack cheese and red-hot maple syrup. “We have been fortunate in the fact that our membership has utilized the club as their primary source of dining during the pandemic,” Fisher says. “I believe they feel safe here at the club and know they will be getting the highestquality food items, such as our seasonal specialties prepared by passionate and creative chefs.” Upscaled comfort classics have also been making up most of the dishes that are now ordered for takeout, Fisher adds. He offers two or three on his winter menus, which he planned to change in the middle of February. During 2020, product shortages due to the pandemic had Fisher, like many club chefs, doing some menu reshuffling. Last spring, pork was in short supply. And for Thanksgiving, none of his suppliers had 14- to 16-pound turkeys, even though Fisher had preordered 100 for member-takeout orders and to give each Berkshire employee one for their own family dinners. “I ended up cleaning out my local supermarket of 14- to 16-pound turkeys and served roughly 60 family to-go packages with all the trimmings for curbside pick-up on Thanksgiving Day,” he says. “We gave the employees a brine-in-bag turkey breast for their holiday dinners.” 36
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Club + Resort Business
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February 2021
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