April 3, 2024

337: Behind the Scenes with Golf's Culinary Visionary Diana DeLucia

337: Behind the Scenes with Golf's Culinary Visionary Diana DeLucia
Private Club Radio
337: Behind the Scenes with Golf's Culinary Visionary Diana DeLucia

Embark on a culinary journey with us as we sit down with Diana DeLucia, the gastronomic innovator behind Golf Kitchen, and unravel the tapestry of gourmet dining within the world of golf clubs. We're not just talking about your average clubhouse fare; this is about the transformation of the golf course gastronomy scene, where kitchens become as prestigious as the greens they overlook. Witness the story of Golf Kitchen's inception, from Diana's shift away from the hustle of New York's food scene to her focus on the unsung heroes behind golf club menus. With a nod to her impressive book series and a peek into the international stage program aimed at chef exchanges, we uncover the quest for culinary excellence that's reshaping the industry.

As we traverse the hallowed kitchens of clubs like Aspatuck Valley, a realization dawns: the kitchen's brand can be as influential as that of the club itself. Discover the innovative strides clubs are making to elevate their culinary reputation, from bespoke kitchen logos to attracting world-class chefs, setting an example that resonates across the industry. Behind the scenes, we share the delicate dance of keeping our magazine's content vibrant, the anticipation of Golf Kitchen events in exotic destinations, and the thrill of considering international editions that could take us from Jakarta's virtual golf concepts to the serene landscapes of Indonesia.

The episode culminates with a forward-looking discussion on the future of culinary talent in the golf industry, tackling the daunting chef shortage expected by 2025 and the strategies clubs are employing to draw in the next wave of kitchen maestros. We address the adaptability of farms and clubs in the face of recent global challenges, while also emphasizing the importance of events like the CMAA conference in driving industry momentum. This conversation is not just about the plates served at the 19th hole; it's an inspiring and insightful look into how Golf Kitchen and the international stage program could very well be the key to sustaining a vibrant and talented community of chefs in the private club industry.

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00:00 - Culinary Experiences at Golf Clubs

10:33 - The Culinary Legacy of Golf Clubs

29:43 - Future Culinary Talent in Golf Industry

37:51 - Club Management and Culinary Expansion

0:00 Hey everyone, welcome back to this episode of Private Club Radio, the industry source for conversations, news, trends and updates. I'm your host, denny Corby. As always, it's a pleasure. Thank you for being here. Thank you to all of our listeners. In this episode I chat with Diana DeLucia. You might know her from Golf Kitchen and in this episode we focus on culinary experiences at golf clubs around the world. She shares with us the idea for Golf Kitchen, how it originated and how it's progressed over the years. We talk about some of her future projects with Golf Kitchen, including a new book series, and we touch on uh, something interesting she's planning for the future um, which is a sort of um international stage program which aims to facilitate reciprocal chef exchanges between clubs.

0:56 Um, which is actually pretty, pretty cool and interesting. Um also because, you know, one of the things we talk about is addressing the challenges of staffing in the golf industry and how the need for more culinary talent is becoming more and more important. So, right before we get to the show, a word from some of our show partners. It's 2024 and it's time to change the way you vet your new members. Some traditions are worth modifying. The new member process hasn't changed really in the past 150 years, relying almost solely on social relationships and casual interactions, but lacking in factual data. And this is where Kennis comes in, because the traditional application process tells you very little about someone's behaviors and character.

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2:25 Concert Golf Partners is changing the game, one club at a time. Since their inception in 2001, they've been on a mission to preserve and elevate private clubs, pouring capital into enhancements that matter. But what sets them apart? These aren't your run-of-the-mill operators. They are a dedicated team with a passion for enhancing the private club experience, both on and off the green. It's their commitment to maintaining the club's unique identity while executing strategic improvements that boost the overall experience and financial health. With Concert Golf Partners, your club gains access to a network of enhanced properties, reciprocal play privileges and a future free from the burden of debt and outdated facilities.

3:06 They're not just building better clubs, they're crafting lasting legacies for members and communities alike. If you'd like to learn more about Concert Golf Partners, or recapitalization, or learning how your members will have no more assessments, head on over to ConcertGolfPartnerscom. Set up a confidential call with Peter Danula and that's it. Simple as that. Also, be sure to check out our episodes of Board Chats here on Private Club Radio, brought to you by our friends. You guessed it Concert Golf Partners. And now, please welcome to the show, diana DeLucia. And how did? Where did? Where did Golf Kitchen come from? And where did Golf Kitchen come from? I used to have a publication in New York City called New York Restaurant Insider that I was part owner of and I'm a photographer by trade.

3:56 So I was working with all the famous chefs back in the day. This was in the 2000s and when the recession hit we closed that magazine and then I started writing a book about chefs in golf and that was in 2010. And the idea came from back then, when blogging came in and everybody was writing about the same stuff. Like everyone was writing about the same stuff, like everyone was writing about the same exact things. And I was like getting bored of New York stuff in New York because everyone was doing everything the same. So I was thinking about where can I still work with chefs and food and cuisine that is not getting highlighted at this particular time?

4:43 And that's how I found the golf industry, because back then in 2010, nobody was writing about golf chefs maybe club and resort, because they were just beginning at that point in time. So except, they're all encompassing, they're all clubs and I'm just focused on golf. So I did that first book. I started at Savonic Golf Club in Southampton and then I went to 12 properties around the world and that book published in 2013 and sold out. Nice. So then I had proof of concept sold out nice.

5:30 So then I had proof of concept. So then I started on the. I was writing for a publication called destination golf china okay, and they're kind of all over the world destination golf magazine, but I know some people from that magazine. So I started this chinese column called, and we called it golf kitchen, but in chinese, and it was translated always into Cantonese or Mandarin or whatever the language was, and it was really cool. And that went until the new government took over in 2015 of China and then everyone had to clear out of China and they had to close the magazine. They knocked down all these golf courses and you know it was all the Americans and all the expats had to clear out of China.

6:10 And they still haven't gone back. And then that's when I started writing the book Golf Kitchen, which is a huge book it's 568 pages, seven pounds, like, like it's like a newborn baby. This is like it's really big and heavy and that started at that launched at wingfoot and I went all around, I went to originally I went to 18 clubs and 16 ended up in the project and then we had these book launches at Wingfoot and Cacique at Kiowa and then the magazine idea came up, which I kind of didn't want to do, the magazine.

6:57 But I gave it a try and now it's in its sixth year and it's doing pretty well. Now um got through the pandemic, which was really hard, and now I'm on the other side of that. So now my focus is developing the magazine further and growing the subscriber base internationally with your. You know when you're working with all of these, these clubs and chefs. What's your process for selecting your clubs and your chefs? I try to stick to the top 20% of clubs to try to keep the quality as high as possible. I usually do a lot of research on a chef and a club before I even call them or contact them and generally I know so many club chefs now I can get referrals from other club chefs.

7:51 But there's a lot of changes happening in the industry right now that I'm thinking and considering want to do more international properties because I think it will be more beneficial for chefs in the US to see what chefs are doing overseas. It's kind of like the chef from Aspatuck Valley Country Club who's in the current magazine. His name's Gerard Clinton. I was talking to him about you know how restaurant chefs do stages at places all over the world and that's how they get better.

8:31 And he said oh, I do that every year normally. And I said well, I know this property in Portugal. I'm pretty sure they'd love to host you. And he just got back yesterday. It's the Oitivus Dunes and they hosted him the whole time for the whole week, took him all over the place. He cooked in the kitchen, loved it, so that was really successful and I think there needs to be more of these reciprocal you know, club chefs going to work in other clubs overseas and internationally, and it's something I've been wanting to work on for a really long time. And I can see how that could be such a great fun program, I think, for clubs and for their members to look forward to, you know, having like a guest chef for a week or a day or a weekend or something that can be so much fun.

9:21 Yeah, um, I like, uh. The reason I met Aspatuck Valley in the first place is because I was, I had done a story with Stephen Yen at Liberty National and he then, a week later, introduced me to Aspatuck Valley in Connecticut. And I didn't even had never heard of the place, nor did I expect it to be as high quality as it is. I'd never heard of the place, nor did I expect it to be as high quality as it is, and then when I went there as a guest, I was blown away. The property is gorgeous, the kitchen is beautiful. They even have their own logo for the kitchen. I've never seen that anywhere in the whole planet On golf clubs.

10:04 I've been to where they actually branded their kitchen. I thought that was super cool. Tell me more about that. That's cool. It is cool. So what do you mean? So the kitchen has a logo? Was there anything else that they do? Are all the? utensils logoed and stuff too. All their uniforms are all logoed up Aspartak Kitchen, aspartak Kitchen, aspartak Valley. So it's an AK kitchen and it's on all the uniforms, like everybody's got the logo, which I thought that was like so appreciative of a membership to do that. A club within a club.

10:44 Yeah, I like that, the club's club club. The logo is in the current magazine as well. I was like blown away by that. I'd be willing to bet. More clubs are going to do that I, I would not doubt that and it's one. Those, even if they don't have to like the ones that do or even think about that, are so far ahead and you know they would create, they would have such a unique position in the marketplace. Yeah, that would do wonders for the talent pool too. That is so neat how you know it's hard doing and putting out things like you do.

11:27 How do you keep your content fresh and engaging with the readers? Well, recently we've changed a lot of things up with the magazine. We're adding different features. We're featuring artists now in the industry or artists involved in the industry. Featuring artists now in the industry or artists involved in the industry. We've got some um. We generally do our wine um reviews with fernando silver at glen arbor golf club. Okay that was really hard to get off the ground. It took about a couple years, um, and we had to meet with some, you know, wine industry people, because it's very hard to pull off the wine reviews in the private club space because they don't.

12:10 You know the clubs I work with. They don't want to see cake, bread or something like that, you know, or yellowtail reviews, like it has to be like really solid wine brands and it's doing really well and that's something we want to develop further Then. So we're kind of adding rather than just focusing on only chefs and golf. I want to open it up to anything between golf and the kitchen. Okay. You know like we have a product page at the beginning called Amuse Bouche now, so we're getting products from all over the place that want to be featured.

12:53 It could be cookbooks, it could be new products, or food or mushrooms or whatever it might be, which is pretty fun. Your bonzo beans the works. Yeah, and I think that's doing pretty well. I'm really proud of the current issue. I'm not sure if you had a chance to look at it. It's online. The digital one's online, so you just need to go to the. Yeah, I will. Uh, I'll check that out the new one after we're done. If you can host a golf kitchen event at any course in the world, where would you do it? well, I've done golf kitchen events. Um, anywhere in the world?

13:35 That's really hard to say. We've done Ponte Mita, mexico, twice, which was fantastic. We have an event every year at Glen Arbor, which has just been. We've postponed the date because it coincides with it's the second day of Passover and there's a Taste of Golf event the next day. So we're moving that event. But if I could do it anywhere in the world, it would be somewhere like Morocco or Dubai or maybe Corsica.

14:19 There's a great venue there. Then there's Spain, valderrama. That would be a great venue to do an event. I've been to all those places. Yeah, and the culinary experience is there too. There's so many amazing destinations, as you know are there any unique? because you know, you've you've been doing this for a while and you've experienced. You know the ups and downs and different turns and the markets and governments and all that sort of you know, just just like you know us and clubs and everything else. You know any any fun lessons that you've learned throughout during doing all of uh, through doing golf kitchen, through.

15:01 You know the thick and thin uh, only that it's really really high stress trying to keep up with uh, printers, mailing, distribution, like there's a lot and you've got to travel, you're going to go to the properties and then when you get back you've got to work with everybody to get the final piece. You know, because I have a rule that you have editorial approval so that everyone's happy and there's not too many errors or typos or anything like that. And it's worked. And now I want to bring the international back because the pandemic kind of squashed that a fair bit.

15:42 But I'm ready. I'm talking to some properties in Indonesia at the moment, so I'm hopeful of potentially doing one travel edition a year. Okay so that will be exciting, and I'm just. You know, there's a. There's a new kind of top golf concept in jakarta right now, and I can't remember the name of it, but it's all private, so it's not like um, it's all the virtual golf. It's not like they have the, the nets and everything like top golf, but it's like that with a focus on fine dining, and they're all private rooms, so you have your own, you can have a party in there, um, with your mini golf, not mini golf, is it video golf, virtual golf, and then have chef comes in and and all of that.

16:35 So I'm thinking of covering that concept. Oh, that's definitely fun. How long have they been doing that for? They only opened in January. Oh so only a month. Yeah, a month or two, yeah, that's definitely a different dimension different offering. Because I think Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake opened one in opposite Grand Central Station, but it's not and I'm not sure if it's a club. It's only a few months old as well, but I want to check that out because it's probably pretty cool. What's been your favorite moments with Golf Kitchen so far?

17:16 What's been your favorite moments with Golf Kitchen so far? What are you very proud of that you and the book have accomplished? I like to say I have one of the biggest portfolios of culinary history in the private golf club industry internationally and I understand the hard work and effort. Everybody all over the world at clubs from Australia to Dubai to Morocco to, I mean, all over the place have privileged me to tell their stories, photograph their food, photograph their culinary teams and you know it's all a big part of the culinary history of golf.

18:03 I'm a really big fan of the history, like creating that history, and I think it's something that I want to leave behind. That I will obviously leave behind. A legacy. And I'm working on another book series. That is a long time. It was like knocked out, had to change the concept during the pandemic because you couldn't travel anymore and chefs were leaving and I was like, oh, we've got all this work, what do I do? So I came up with a new concept called uh, golf's culinary pioneers and that's three volumes and I'm working really hard on that project.

18:45 It's really hard to kind of um, do the magazine and do the books all at the same simultaneously, because it's a ton of work and and we're probably a little bit more in the creative space than some others, and sometimes it's hard to switch off one project to work on like another. So it's like you know, yeah. So so, yeah, it's, yeah, I do I find it really, really difficult. Sometimes it's like, do I spend three hours doing this and then three hours doing that, or do I break it up and then you've got all the other stuff you have to do in between. Yep. And then you get on your creative flow. Next thing you know, you saw that one email that comes in.

19:26 You're like, oh, I got to take care of it. You know, one good thing is Chef's Warehouse just came on board as a sponsor. Very nice. Yeah, so I'm excited because, um they're going to I'm going to be working with them for the next year Um showcasing some of the chef's warehouse products and brands. So that's a new thing for golf kitchen. I'm really proud of that. Um bringing chef's warehouse on board. What's the uh golf kitchen culinary excellence awards board. What's the uh golf kitchen culinary excellence awards? Um, that is in its fifth year. That's the event. I just um, we had to drop one year at 2020, obviously. So we didn't do the awards.

20:07 We started in 2018 and the idea is to grow that event, to make it international. To make it international and in 2022, which was a really challenging year for everybody we moved it to April, but that's the event that I just postponed it coming up with a new date because it's too close to another event and some of those chefs want to play in the tournament, because we have a tournament associated with it now and I want it to be really big this time. So we're postponing it and we'll just come up with a new date which will be announced. I'm thinking September, october.

20:50 Okay, do you know where? Oh, it'll still be at Glen Arbor. Oh, gotcha, gotcha, yeah, just moving it. Yeah, just have to move it. I want that event to develop in a big way that we have chefs on the golf course club, chefs playing golf on the golf course Club, chefs are cooking at the event and then you have your awards and grow it and then have it internationally. That's what I, that's my dream, if I could get a major sponsor and move then, we can move it around the country yeah every year. We can do it at a new location um and then potentially have international um.

21:34 But you've got to have the big sponsors for that or get really creative yeah, well, I've done that a lot. I've had enough of that if you. So I'm just thinking about fooding and getting hungry. Now, if you had to choose one food dish to represent golf kitchen, what food dish would it be? oh, my goodness, that's a tough question. In the whole time that I've traveled, I have never come across the same recipe from any chef anywhere. That's how much food recipes there are on the planet ever Like.

22:17 I just like all foods. So for me to say it signifies one type of food, it does not. It's all-encompassing. The portfolio of recipes is insane. You know we have Vietnam in there, we've got Singapore, we've got China. We've got Singapore, we've got China, we've got Indonesia. There's South America, mexico, dubai, spain, france, corsica. You know it's very international, so everything's always new and fresh. That's why I really want to get back to international clubs as well. Like doing like. I'm hoping that we can get either golf, kitchen travel edition, all Asia, that's what I'm hoping.

23:05 Ooh, that would be good. And then I'm thinking of doing a pastry edition, because nobody focuses on the pastry chefs these days and I thought why not do a pastry edition? And it's all pastries from clubs all over the place. I'm trying to think. My head was going into funny words with pastries and chefs and periodicals. I don't know my brain was going off. How often are you putting out content for Golf Kitchen? We're back on a quarterly now. We had a bit of a hiccup with the, the current edition, coming out. It's been a bit late with the printing. That's why I brought the digital version out first and their print version gets shipped and hopefully that's not going to happen again.

23:51 It's not. The snow caused a lot of delays because the printer's in Canada, so it's a bit late, but better late than never. Yeah, and it's one I think I feel like now, excuse me, it's kind of like anything that's unexpected. It's kind of like, well, all right. Like to me like nothing is a surprise anymore. Like even if you have like a deadline that you know is early and still like late. It's like, oh, the shipper's late. Like like even if, even if you have like a a deadline that you know is early and still like late. So like like oh, the shippers late. Like oh, it makes sense, sounds about right. Like nothing nothing surprises me anymore with with almost anything. Well, plus it's the public holidays around. Anywhere between, like, thanksgiving and president's day, there's either going to be snow, storms and then there's a public holiday.

24:36 I'm like it's public holiday and so they're closed, so it's a. It's the worst time of year to have anything shipped or printed. But you know, now that we're up to date and everything, it's fine. It's not like it hasn't happened in the past. Yeah, Is your family involved at all with with golf kitchen or in the culinary or golf or club? no, no, my oldest daughter works in technology. She's a um cto recruiter in manhattan. Uh, she has her own business. And then my younger works in the like veterinary field. Oh, we love our doggies here she's a really good um editor, though she just hates doing it.

25:24 She's really good at it like she'll spot any like even a dot that shouldn't be on the document. I just wish she loved it. Out of all the chefs that you've gotten to experience and work with. Was there anyone that had a particularly good story or story that resonated or inspired you maybe a little bit more? There's quite a few, inspirational, I would say. I don't want to kind of hurt people's feelings, you know no, but there's a chef at Bonnie Breyer in New York and he's kind of.

26:14 He was a veteran and he came back with post-traumatic stress disorder and I was fascinated by his story because it was very different from the average and he openly discusses his PTSD and how he utilizes that at work, how he does a lot of charity work in the city. He's just joined the fire brigade and he's doing his firefighters Like and this guy's works is butt off. He's like a really good chef, top class. His name is Chris Reverend, has a huge following, but he's just can't stand the heat.

26:56 Join the fire brigade. Not even not even get out of the kitchen. Stand the heat. Join the fire brigade. Like not even not even get out of the kitchen. Just go join the fire brigade. Wow, this is so cool. You know, um he's he's very, very um respected. He's a really kind man. He's very kind to his staff, he gives them all these opportunities to excel, so I would say he would be one of the more inspirational chefs. Then, you know, there's chefs all over the world that you know I could talk about for ages, but there's one topic I do want to broach with you is that right now, the golf industry is booming, right.

27:40 That doesn't mean it's going to boom forever, right. So, with all these members joining clubs right now and there's big waiting lists all over the place, that means we need more culinary talent and, unfortunately, a lot of chefs are going to be retiring soon and there's not enough talent in a 10 to 20-year period to fill those positions. So somehow the industry has to do something, and I hope they're thinking ahead, because I've spoken to recruiters and they're expecting, like 2025 to be really critical staff shortage, to be really critical staff shortage, and you know I've been seeing this happening for a long time.

28:34 I've spoken to a lot of chefs that are going to retire because people call me all the time to say, hey, do you have a chef that wants to work over here? Do you know a chef that wants to work here? Do you know who's moving around? Like? There's a lot of competition and it's going to get worse, because when I was started remember, I said when I first started this, it was really hard to find a club that had decent cuisine in 2010, and the private a lot of the private clubs didn't want to, um, didn't want anyone to see what their chef was making, so so you'd just get the door closed. Now it's all different. Now they're spending $20 million on new kitchens all over the country and they need people that are talented and skilled to run those kitchens, and I don't know how it's going to pan out, because they don't have enough trained chefs of high caliber to replace them or to fill the retiree chef position.

29:29 It's a big problem I've had a few guests where, uh, you know, saying almost the same thing like 24 is going to be an interesting roadway to see how 25 is going to look. Uh, just, you know each has their own certain thing that they're, you know, involved when are looking at. But yeah, uh, staffing is huge. I know a lot of clubs just the people I've been talking to and having on it's, you know a lot of them are focusing, you know, have and still are heavily on the youth and the children, the kids of the schools, and trying to showcase to them. You know even high schools and middle schools about private clubs, culinary school, all of that. You know that world and to show that private clubs, uh, whether it's management or any kind of place in it, you don't technically need a formal education to come in and be a part, like, as long as you're willing to learn, have a good personality, you know you, you have good, you know morals or you know whatever.

30:24 Uh, whether it's you know the chef, food and beverage, you know you're, you have good, you know morals or you know whatever. Uh, whether it's you know the chef, food and beverage, you know anything like uh, so it's just trying to get people and show, like, what the private club world is and and opening up, uh, and you know a little, I don't want to say a little toot to myself, but, um, that's sort of my goal is bringing other people in to show how great the private club industry is. You know, whether it's if you like architecture, like hey, there's architects who focus just on building beautiful clubs. If you like finance and money, there's people who focus just on finance and money for clubs. Hey, if you're in the culinary world, private club world could be. You know, granted, it all still boils down to making sure you find the right club and the right club. That's, you know, running well and has the right staff, which is also also key, because if you have a great, a great chef that you bring in, but you know, between the gm and the board and some other things, if you know everything else isn't in in a line, then you know it's not going to be a good, a good fit there, but um, yeah, it's going to be interesting.

31:20 24, 25, I think One of the things that bothers me is I remember the last recession and the first thing that went was the club membership. So when you have so many people all over the country joining clubs, what happens when they can't get enough staff because there's just too many people and too many clubs that need really good culinary talent? And then what happens when, if something happens like a recession, like with all these wars going on all over the place, like anything could happen right now and it could become unstable again.

32:01 So it's really hard to predict the future. But I'm not the only one that is thinking this. I've spoken to a lot of chefs who are retiring. They already have a hard time getting talent in the kitchen as it is. So when they're gone, it's like and the Grey Oaks, they're on the cover of this current issue in Naples, Florida, when I was down there, they have 40 international staff 40. Four zero. In the kitchen yeah, food and beverage 40. Because they've got to get staff from somewhere. So everyone has to use these visas, because the US kids don't seem to want to work in the club industry.

32:45 So it's like, how do you get? You have to get outside of golf number one to get more staff. So you've got to try to pick up all the people that wanted to go to work in restaurants and let them know there's these amazing positions in the private club industry. But they don't know, they're not aware. And if they are aware, there's two kinds of in the private club industry. But they don't know, they're not aware. And if they are aware, there's two kind of categories. There's the. They still think it's, you know, old people playing golf and eating hamburgers or they're intimidated. There's those two categories and if you can't get outside the industry you're not going to be able to pull in those people yeah what's your opinion on that?

33:32 I think the ones that I think the good ones are going to continue to do well. So you know forgive me the, the club that you mentioned that has their own logo for the. You know their own branding for the. You know their own branding for the kitchen. You know, I think everyone you know will experience something. But I feel as though those clubs, the ones who have their brand, established their identities you know they have their, they take care of their employees. I think they're going to continue and we'll be fine. I think it's the clubs that either took for granted what the pandemic brought to them, because a lot of clubs I think were in in, you know, not a good place. The pandemic came and saved a lot of clubs and those clubs I think are gonna, are starting you can kind of sort of start, start to see it now as things are starting to level off and things are going back to normal, or, you know, however you want to describe's going on, they're now back to where they were because they didn't take what they had I don't want to say as serious, but when they should have been putting money into things or doing whatever they you know just oh, this is great, we're going to be fine.

34:40 What they were supposed to, to enhance their clubs, whether it's, you know, getting their technology up to date, whether it's the course, the interior, the upgrades, whatever it is, staffing management I think those ones are going to start, you know, I think it's going to go back to pre-pandemic right, where that sort of like level was the ones who do it well, who have, you know, a brand and they, you know, like, for example, tcc the country club. They, you know a brand and they, you know, like, for example, tcc the country club. They, you know their their staff is the squirrel squad. You know, I think when you have something like that that has an identity, that you're not just you know you're, you're an employer of choice. You want to be there. I think. That's, I think I think they're going to, you know they're all going to experience challenges, but I think they're going to be fine.

35:32 It's the ones that, um, you know, took for granted, or just, uh, relying on other things, I don't know, I don't know. They were scrambling like what, say, aspartac valley? Um, in the one that I was telling you about, they, um, they already have a big, giant farm on their property that has that they were already doing grocery deliveries before the pandemic even hit. So when the pandemic happened, they already had all that in place, because they were already doing it. And then they, they outdid themselves with their farm yeah so I found that really, really cool yeah, yeah, no, I think it definitely is going to be interesting because we can say anything we we we want, but who knows what could happen it's like it's right back to the wild, wild west.

36:18 Um, that's what I called the pandemic. That was fun times, uh but, yeah. So I, I think the ones are gonna, are gonna do fine, uh, I think the right people if they just find the right clubs. I think that that that's it too is there's a lot of people who I don't say people who but you know, just because you want to work at a club doesn't mean that you might be the right fit for it either, and that's both for members and for staff. Uh, because every club does have, you know, just like any business has its own identity and you know their own personality, so to speak. So, um, I think you know, making sure the right person is at the right club in the right position, um, I think that's also a thing too is making sure that the staff vibes well and you know everyone's on that, that same train also, um, I agree, like right now there's there's such a lot of movement.

37:11 I'm noticing staff are moving around. It's usually the really good, the top clubs, that their staff never leave. They're there forever, um, whereas some of the other clubs, you know, they're jumping. Where do I want to work? Well, that has to do with, you know, board changes also. So if you want to get down into like the nitty gritty of it, it's, you know, the most club managers last two, three, four years, if that, because that's how long the the average board board tenure is. Um, so you know. But with that, you know then if, uh, if a, if a manager leaves, sometimes they bring a lot of their team with them, you know. Or if the, if the team really liked them in this, in the GMs out and they go to another, another good club, it's not uncommon for them to bring a staff member to three, sometimes more, um, all at once, but also like over time.

38:01 Sometimes it's not always immediate, but like there's ones you know where, you'll see, you know this. It might take a year or two, but like the staff slowly will like trickle over and they will move quite, quite a distance to be with the right club and the right leadership With them. So, yeah, I think, to sum it it up, I would say probably identity, I think. I think the ones who identify themselves. As you know, I don't want good clubs, but whatever you want to call that, I think they're going to be, they're going to be okay, but I think the staffing is going to be interesting to watch, uh, and I'll be down at the cmaa conference in two weeks, uh, so it'd be interesting to hear um and see what the what the buzz is about that down there also.

38:46 Yeah, I think that will be an interesting conference. I'm glad you're going to that. You're going to interview people at the conference, correct? Oh yeah, content galore, content galore. So what's on the future? What are you excited for with Golf Kitchen as we wrap this up? I'm excited to continue to expand the publication, to grow our subscription base. I want to get in clubs internationally, like I said, so we can just keep bringing more and more stories in the industry on the culinary side and be more of an influence to chefs so they can see you know what someone's cooking overseas.

39:27 But I do want to get the program off the ground, the international stage program which is reciprocal. So a club in Spain would pay for their chef to come over here, whether they were let's just make up, say it was Kiowa Island or something like that. So they come over to Kiowa Island, it was Kiowa Island or something like that. So they come over to Kiowa Island and then Kiowa Island sends their team over to their property. And I'd like to kind of find a travel agent to work with because there will be a lot of insurance involved. So it just would be. It would keep chefs interested, it would keep chefs at the club, knowing their membership cares enough to send them over there and to bring reciprocal chefs in.

40:11 It's happening a little bit, but I think to get younger people involved you've got to have something to offer. All the restaurant chefs did that all their lives. It's all the restaurant chefs did that all their lives. They've all gone to Paul Bocuse and Alinea or wherever they're going all over the world to do these stages. We need to do this in the private club industry. Yeah, I like that. That's a good campaign. I like that platform. I like that platform. I like that platform. Diana, thank you so much for coming on. Where can people find out more about you and golf kitchen?

40:52 um, you can go to golfkitchencom us, us, oh, oh, geez, who had like the good, like the good, you know, website names back in the day. You meet some people now it's like oh, golf kitchen 2018. Like, ah, all right, you're gonna get it, but no, you, you got it. That's good, hey, you know how I got the logo. Do you want to know? How I got. You know how I got the, the domain no it was 2015 and someone was like a squad. I was sitting on it and they wanted like 10 grand for it and I was like, okay, I'll just come up with another name, right? So then one day I just sat down I was actually finishing my book and I was at an Airbnb because I needed to get away from everything and I went, oh, let me have a look and see if this is available.

41:45 And he had let it go and I got it for $11. Hell yeah. It was $11, and I went whoa, I got it and he must have not paid his fees, or whatever it was, for a period of time. And then it was just there and I was like I'm getting this, which is kind of fun. Please tell me that you emailed him back and asked if you want to buy it back for like for 11,000. No, I didn't. Make a small little markup. I was just like, really happy, Like that was one of the happier days. I was like, oh my God, I scored it. I don't have to come up with a new name. Hope you all enjoyed that episode. I don't have to come up with a new name.

42:25 Hope you all enjoyed that episode. If you'd like to learn more about Diana and Golf Kitchen, head on over to golfkitchencom. Appreciate each and every one of you for listening, making it through the episode. Thank you so much. Thanks to all of our show partners. If you haven't done so yet, sign up for our newsletter. You get all the content and things that we release weekly into one email. We don't get spammy. We ain't about that life, but what we are about is helping each other, and if you enjoyed the content, please make sure you like share, subscribe, and when we say share, share with other people who you think might also enjoy. It Costs nothing and means the world to us and the channel. Until next time, catch you on the flippity flip.