The Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC
by David Meyers
Michael – You are a New Yorker by origin and were bitten early by the foodservice industry bug. Share with us bits of your original passion towards food, owning a restaurant at a young age, your CIA experiences and subsequent career travel leading you to ultimately drive two regarded club culinary operations.
A – As soon as I was old enough to work, I worked for my brother in the kitchen of Scratch Daniels, a restaurant in Syracuse, washing dishes for five dollars a day. As my interest in the restaurant business grew I purchased Spanky’s Clam Shack and Fish Fry in East Syracuse, NY, with my brother. I made my living working the line and frying up seafood for a steady clientele. “Ultimately I realized I wanted to make a career out of cooking and knew I had to expand my knowledge to succeed. I got really good at working the line then sold my interest in the restaurant and started moving from job to job just to gain more knowledge.
As I was developing my skills, making calculated job movements, I was skimming the classifieds and answered a blind ad. To my amazement, I discovered that the advertiser was none other than Joel Chenet, one of the nation’s most respected French chefs. He was looking for apprentice staff for L’Auberge Du Cygne, a highly acclaimed 80-seat restaurant in Manlius, NY.
“Chenet had all these medals from all over the world,” “I looked around at the medals on the walls, and I thought, ‘I’ll do anything to work for this chef.’” Which by the way I still believe is what young culinarians want and except from the Chef they work for.
The position in Chenet’s kitchen paid less than any job I had ever had, but it opened up a world of possibilities for an aspiring chef. “Chenet showed me that being a chef wasn’t a job-it was a career,” Before I worked in his kitchen, cooking meant working hard and getting through service. I’d been cooking for seven years, but I’d never learned to respect what I put in the window. Chenet didn’t accept second best.”
After 3 years at the Auberge du Cygne, I realized I needed the educational piece that a Chef could not give me so I went off to the Culinary Institute of America. Since leaving the CIA I have found a career path in the Private Club industry. I spent eleven seasons working in a very exclusive country club in Central New York that played host to the PGA Senior tour. After earning my stripes if you will, I ventured off to the Genesee Valley Club in Rochester New York, where my career really took off in many ways.
Michael – What extraordinary actively did you leverage to guide your competitive advantage, building your unique brand and an exceptional culinary brigade (You may wish to speak to Reinhard always supporting your career development endeavors – I’m going to touch on this at my next symposium speak next month). (somewhere is this dialogue tell us how you were compelled to give CMAA Chapter presentations).
A – In addition to working at the Valley Club, I participated in four or five ACF culinary competitions every year, using these as an opportunity to hone the culinary skills of myself and staff.
Competitions are about going and doing something that other chefs can’t or won’t do, for this reason, only a tiny percentage of chefs compete. Competitions are also about staff growth-and I always told my staff to focus on the growth instead of on the medal. Most of the time they still won. I always worked with them developing recipes, food styling. photography, and application packets.
I was fortunate to work for a General Manager Reinhard Danger, CCM who understood the need to support the Chef, his culinary team and establishing an apprenticeship program to make the culinary pro program dynamic. I relish the nine years in Rochester working and helping enhance the Club’s traditions and national reputation for exceptional service and cuisine.
Through having to make hard decisions at the Club in regards to culinary team building I started to compete and bring the competition model into the Club kitchen. Through the reputation of the culinary team as a whole at various competitions throughout the country we were able to attract a much higher skilled work force in the Genesee Valley Club Kitchen.
Through working at the Club and having the right chemistry with the membership, board and the GM, I was able to travel the world, get involved with CMAA both locally and nationally as a speaker on team building which I still do to this day. With all these elements in sync, we build a brand of distinction where aspiring culinarians want to come work and develop their craft.
Michael – What were some of the compelling, sure tell signals nudging you to transition into a F&B Director role?
A – Through my educational travels with CMAA and the ACF, I realized professional growing potential for someone like me to get more involved in the management scheme. Speaking to Chefs and GM’s I realized a desire that I had to manage a Platinum Club for myself, mentoring staff at all levels while managing business affairs. Certainly working for someone like Reinhard
Danger, CCM – by the way came through the kitchen as well – really helped me make the decision to move forward into the management arena. However I must admit, once a chef always a chef! But certainly there is tremendous growth potential and an abundance of challenges directing an entire club operation which I find fascinating.
Michael – What is it about clubs and your ultimate ambition to be a General Manager of a distinguished operation?
A – Having spend the last 22 years in very high end Clubs around the Northeast, I find it increasingly challenging as well, as rewarding, to build the entire team within the Club. I also enjoy the connection you are able to gain with a membership within the Private Club sector. Working with governing board has its inherent challenges however when correctly managed can be an enormous asset in which to get things done. I cannot think of a better way to gain support for a project than to work with a committee structure and Board. We in the Club industry are blessed and I never forget it! To be able to work alongside of some of the most influential people within our community, really can be exciting and personally rewarding.
Competitions are about going and doing something that other chefs can’t or won’t do, for this reason, only a tiny percentage of chefs compete. Competitions are also about staff growth-and I always told my staff to focus on the growth instead of on the medal. Most of the time they still won. I always worked with them developing recipes, food styling. photography, and application packets.
I was fortunate to work for a General Manager Reinhard Danger, CCM who understood the need to support the Chef, his culinary team and establishing an apprenticeship program to make the culinary pro program dynamic. I relish the nine years in Rochester working and helping enhance the Club’s traditions and national reputation for exceptional service and cuisine.
Through having to make hard decisions at the Club in regards to culinary team building I started to compete and bring the competition model into the Club kitchen. Through the reputation of the culinary team as a whole at various competitions throughout the country we were able to attract a much higher skilled work force in the Genesee Valley Club Kitchen.
Through working at the Club and having the right chemistry with the membership, board and the GM, I was able to travel the world, get involved with CMAA both locally and nationally as a speaker on team building which I still do to this day. With all these elements in sync, we build a brand of distinction where aspiring culinarians want to come work and develop their craft.
Michael – What were some of the compelling, sure tell signals nudging you to transition into a F&B Director role?
A – Through my educational travels with CMAA and the ACF, I realized professional growing potential for someone like me to get more involved in the management scheme. Speaking to Chefs and GM’s I realized a desire that I had to manage a Platinum Club for myself, mentoring staff at all levels while managing business affairs. Certainly working for someone like Reinhard
Danger, CCM – by the way came through the kitchen as well – really helped me make the decision to move forward into the management arena. However I must admit, once a chef always a chef! But certainly there is tremendous growth potential and an abundance of challenges directing an entire club operation which I find fascinating.
Michael – What is it about clubs and your ultimate ambition to be a General Manager of a distinguished operation?
A – Having spend the last 22 years in very high end Clubs around the Northeast, I find it increasingly challenging as well, as rewarding, to build the entire team within the Club. I also enjoy the connection you are able to gain with a membership within the Private Club sector. Working with governing board has its inherent challenges however when correctly managed can be an enormous asset in which to get things done. I cannot think of a better way to gain support for a project than to work with a committee structure and Board. We in the Club industry are blessed and I never forget it! To be able to work alongside of some of the most influential people within our community, really can be exciting and personally rewarding.
Michael – What’s all the buzz circling today’s DC food scene?
A – The food scene in DC is ever changing with always something special going on. I have seen many changes on the food scene since arriving a little less than four years earlier. The city in 2007 was dominated by the “old steak house concept” If I never eat cream spinach again it will be OK. (BY THE WAY I ALWAYS LOVE IT PRIOR TO dc).
Now you have a growing influence of top Chefs wanting to build restaurants in this market. It is quickly becoming a “foody” kind of town. The biggest craze currently is the Food Trucks offering anything from crepes to Maine Lobster rolls. Jose Andres remains the buzz with his Mini Bar, Café Atlántico and Jaleo Tapas concepts.
One of the new and hottest talents in DC is Eric Ziebold who joins the ranks of James Beard Award Winners denoting ‘Best Chefs in America’, one of only ten chefs to receive the prestigious honor in 2008. As he continues to demonstrate his rare talents and maintain an instinctive creativity, the numerous accolades are continually bestowed: Food & Wine Magazine voted CityZen Restaurant one of the ‘Hottest Restaurants in the World’, and Ziebold one of ‘America’s Best New Chefs.’
Editors Comments – What thoughtful insight towards career management, dedication and the special universe call Clubdome.