|
|
|
|
| SYSCO
Home >
Customers >
Services
> SYSCO Features
> Chef's Showcase
> The Lodge at Rancho Mirage |
 |
| Chef's Showcase |
|
| Fine And Casual Desert Dining, Cliffside
|
|
Executive Chef
Frederic Nail was classically trained in the European apprenticeship system.
|
|
Executive chef: Frederic Nail
Owning company: RockResorts
Location: due west of Los Angeles, near Palm Springs
Concept: California fare with a Provençal influence, offered in breathtaking resort surroundings
Property size: 24 acres
Dining venues: The Cafe, The Mirada, The Lobby Lounge
Meeting space: 11,192 square feet
Check averages: The Cafe: $20, breakfast; $25-$30, lunch; $50-$70, dinner. The Mirada: $15 all day. The Lobby Lounge: $10-$15 all day
Number of seats in The Cafe: 125 plus 50 on terrace
Number of kitchen staff: 30
Recreation: Swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness center and spa, croquet, jeep tours, and hiking trails
Menu features of The Cafe: Friday night seafood buffet and Sunday champagne and caviar brunch; chilled cucumber and watercress soup with corn and crab fritter; Dorade filet with salsify and lobster fricassee, Oregon truffles and carrot curry sauce; grilled rack of lamb with warm potato and pork chorizo ragu and basil lamb sauce; strawberry pistachio tart with lemon gelato and crème fraiche
|
|
|
|
|
Why is it so important to make virtually everything from scratch, even in such a high-volume resort?
- Questions & Answers
|
|
What route did your career take to bring you to the Southern California desert?
I'm originally from the northwest part of France and began in 1985 in the traditional apprenticeship program there, right after I decided to pursue a career in cooking. That took me all around Europe, in kitchens in Paris, Geneva and Stockholm. Then I spent a few years cooking on the cruise lines. After that I moved to hotels, mostly Ritz-Carlton properties in Naples, Fla., San Diego; and Laguna Niguel, Calif.
|
|
That sounds very exciting, but it's really a lot of hard work serving all those vacationers, isn't it?
Of course, working in any kitchen requires a big commitment, but we chefs are in this business because we love it. For me quality is everything, whether I'm serving one person or 200 people or more.
|
|
Michelin awarded The Cafe four stars last year. What does it take to achieve your desired level of quality?
I believe first in excellent ingredients and using simple techniques to prepare food from scratch. The dishes can be simple, as long as we emphasize the natural flavors of the products.
To achieve that, I bring food in from all over. And we depend on a combination of classic techniques and modern flavors to develop a menu that complements the products themselves.
|
|
Can we call the food in the restaurants "spa" cuisine?
Not really. In The Mirada our terrace that overlooks the Coachella Valley, the dishes are somewhat lighter than in The Cafe. But really out here in the desert, the climate is just more conducive to lighter dishes in general. We can't go heavy on the sauces, for example. So what we end up focusing on is a very similar cuisine to what I'm familiar with - from Provence, in the South of France. And because we are located here, there is also an influence of California cuisine.
|
|
How do you have the kitchens organized to achieve so much scratch cooking?
All together there are six separate kitchens, including banquet, garde manger, pastry and butcher shop. We still do all of our own cutting and portioning, for both meats and seafood. And we make all of our stocks and virtually all the bread and pastry. The only things we bring in are the dinner rolls for banquets.
Each of the three restaurants has its own chef and assistant, and there are banquet, pastry and garde manger chefs.
|
|
Do you still cook on the line?
I try to cook every day. It's important, I think; otherwise, you lose your senses. Of course, it's not possible or necessary to be there all the time, but that just means I can visit all the different kitchens every so often and stay in touch with my chefs and our customers.
|
|
What is banquet service like?
We are fortunate in having the kitchen adjacent to the banquet dining areas, so that means we are able to treat large events just like restaurant service. All of our dishes are prepared at the last minute, without having to hold or transport finished dishes. In that way we're able to get away from what guests typically expect they're going to get for banquet food.
|
|
Is the business at The Lodge seasonal?
The banquet and meeting schedule pretty much runs from Sept. 15 through May. But the restaurants attract both local valley diners as well as visitors from Southern California, so that helps keep things steady.
|
|
What do you do to keep the staff engaged in the slower times?
I just keep everyone busy, doing the planning work for next year, testing new dishes for the following seasons and trying new products. Despite the heat the summer can be a very productive time. Because we're still quite busy on the weekends, I keep almost a full staff all year-round.
|
|
How would you describe your management style?
For me good training is good managing. I try to keep an open-door policy. And I don't like to scream. I believe you get the best from people when you develop strong one-on-one relationships. That helps build trust. And you've got to be able to trust them with everything, even when you're not there.
It's equally important to develop those relationships with the dining-room department, because that's the only way you can arrive at consistently excellent service.
|
|
|
|
|
|
