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Culinary Currents
April 2005
Gleneagles Country Club Executive Chef Bill Wilt:
It’s All About Passion!
By Peter Langlois
 Chef
Bill Wilt has had an interesting culinary journey since he graduated from
The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park in 1977. As we were
chatting the Friday morning before Easter, Chef Bill was looking back on
his career.
Out of School, he apprenticed at the Boca Raton Hotel in
Boca Raton, Fla., and then moved to Dallas to hone his craft at the
Landmark Anatole Hotel in the early 80’s. He then spent some 16 years with
The Four Seasons. He’s been with ClubCorp and Gleneagles in Plano, Texas,
for about seven years.
I asked Bill if he had a mentor or favorite chef. His
answer was no surprise. “I carefully chose where I went to work because I
was passionate about becoming great in this trade. So I chose places where
many great European chefs were willing to share knowledge and tricks of
the trade. I don’t know if it’s true in other businesses—I expect it
is—but I believe you must be passionate to be successful.” He feels he
learned from the best, especially at the Four Seasons.
He said what made (makes) the Four Seasons special is
that there is a certain culinary expectation that comes with a $300 to
400- a-night hotel room: Excellence! By striving to enhance the guests’
overall experience, Bill says no stone was left unturned in order to
impress guests. It was at the Four Seasons where he feels he had the best
opportunities to do edgy and innovative food.
I sensed he doesn’t miss the Four Seasons because he’s
caught up in the moment taking care of the 1,700 members of Gleneagles
Country Club: “ I’m focused on doing whatever it takes to please our
members, and a lot of times that is not edgy. Our members expect a great
experience every time and value the assurance that when they entertain
guests the dining experience will be certain to please.”
“I am having a little fun serving antelope burgers with
sautéed Portobello mushrooms and balsamic mayo in The Grill, but mostly
it’s not about me, it’s about our members.” As I talk to so many chefs,
that common thread separates the best from others- an absolute focus on
customers.
Chef Bill was working on the Easter Sunday Buffet for
about 700 guests. “We could squeeze in a few more, but why chance that? I
think greed can get the better of us if we’re not careful. What if we had
a few complaints because of that?”
I asked if he had any advice for young chefs graduating
from Schools today. He said, “Choose chefs from whom you can learn the
trade. It’s not about making money when you start out, it’s about getting
really good at this. It’s a mistake to come out of School thinking you’re
ready because you’re not. In my case, I learned so much from so many
chefs! Pick a specific area of interest and then get passionate about it.
That’s the key.”
Peter Langlois is founder of
www.RestaurantU.com: Tools of the Trade for Business, for School, for
Free!,co-editor of
Weekly Restaurant Connections (e-Newsletter), Culinary Instructor,
The Art Institute of Houston-Culinary, and Management, Marketing
and e-business Facilitator at The University of
Phoenix (Houston). Langlois is also a Malcolm
Baldrige 2005 Ambassador. He has a Political Science degree
from Michigan State University (Modern International Chinese Relations)
and an M.B.A from the University of Houston (Marketing and Business
Strategies). If you enjoyed this feature, you’ll probably enjoy his free
newsletter available on
www.RestaurantU.com.
Contact information: 832.860.5595 or
peter@restaurantu.com
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