FOOD
Corks and Forks Wine dinners have shape-shifted into smaller, more intimate affairs. By Joanna DeChellis, Editor
REINVENTING WINE DINNERS TO make them more socially distant— while still maxed out on innovation and extravagance—has been challenging for club chefs. It has also been deeply energizing. When Matthew Blazey, Executive Chef of Lexington (Ky.) Country Club (LCC), began planning for a slate of wine dinners as things began to reopen, he wondered if less would be more. “We decided to cap wine dinners at 30 members,” says Blazey. Pre-pandemic, the headcount at an LCC wine dinner would soar above 80. Such a crowd prevented Blazey from developing intricate menus with personalized touches. He also wasn’t able to be with the members who attended for any length of time, as the event flew by at a frenzied pace. Now, when members attend one of LCC’s more exclusive wine dinners, they aren’t thrust into a crowded ballroom. Instead, they’re whisked away to a private dining space—sometimes outside on the lawn, other times inside the clubhouse—where they can indulge in a meticulously crafted prix fixe menu with carefully curated wine pairings. “The smaller size has been a blessing in disguise,” says Blazey. “Not only are we able to serve smaller groups more intimately, we’ve also increased demand. Our reservations and waitlists are selling out almost immediately.”
16 l Club Resort Chef 16 Chef l Club ++ Resort
March 2021 ll March 2021
www.clubandresortchef.com www.clubandresortchef.com
