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Steeped in history, the Tilton Mansion, home to the University and Whist Club, is focusing on its culinary future and arming itself with a triad of global experience from its new culinary team of advisors. While the mansion itself dates to 1802, the club it houses, has been a private city-dining club known for its first class service and fine dining since 1958. “The growth and change in Wilmington’s celebrated culinary landscape affords us the opportunity really shine and expand the food experiences the Whist Club has been known for in recent decades,” explains Michael Crispin, VP/General Manager of the club. The first side of the triad is Michelle Hatzis, PhD, most recently with Google. Dr. Hatzis is the co-founder of the Google Food Lab that brings together the world’s best thinkers and doers in Food and Beverage, Culinary, Health, Design and Technology doers in the food space that apply their knowledge and passion towards imagining and shaping the future of corporate food with the integration of technology. As Google Food’s leader in Health, Wellness and Food Choice Architecture, she worked with the world’s leading Universities, Culinary Institutions and Chef’s to design and manage Eating Well and Lifestyles programs around the world for all of Google’s global employees and its offices. Michelle is a Wilmington native. The second side of the triad is Chef Richard Faeh who spent 13 years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide as their Senior Director of Culinary. During his tenure with Starwood, he developed and implemented restaurant concepts for new hotels, as well as implemented core concepts in most of the transitioned Hotels. Prior to working for Starwood, Richard was the Senior Regional Chef for the Hyatt Hotels. He worked in Sweden, Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany, Tunis (Nord Africa), Barcelona, Spain, Seoul, South Korea, Nassau, Bahamas and Bangkok, Thailand . Richard also collaborated with third party-restaurant operators, including Jean-George Vongerichten, Alain Ducasse, Jose Andres, Starr Restaurants and Manny’s Minneapolis to implement their concepts in 15 Starwood hotels. Richard is Swiss and trained as a chef at Gewerbeschule in Zurich, Switzerland. Richard recently retired to Wilmington. Dr. Hatzis and Chef Richard worked together at Google for several years to implement many food and beverage experiences that support optimal health and wellness, sustainability and combating food waste issues. Both Chef Richard and I are very excited for the opportunity to apply our extensive experience in designing optimal Food, Beverage and Service experiences to the club that will showcase every element of fine dining and service with the goal of celebrating the “Joy of Food” and building an even stronger community for the Whist Club members and future members!, explained Dr. Hatzis Making up the final side of the triad, is the new Executive Chef to the Whist Club, Chef Graham Witter. Chef Graham comes from Charlotte, North Carolina and brings with him experience in upscale and exclusive golf clubs like Trump International in Charlotte and high end hotel restaurants like within the Ritz Carlton chain. The trend of private clubs across the country closing, is in part due to their struggle to remain relevant. The University and Whist Club has bucked that trend since the new ownership in July of 2016. Dining sales, off-premise catering, wedding and banquet bookings, as well as Membership count is on the upswing. Both Michelle and Chef Richard will work in an advisory capacity, consulting and guiding the culinary team at the Whist. They will work directly with Chef Graham and VP/GM Michael Crispin, to create not only a new spring/summer 2019 menu but to add on-going food experiences to heighten the overall culinary take-away for its Members. The club began opening its doors to Non-Members for select special events throughout the year; offering a window of opportunity to dine in the Tilton Mansion allowing a Non-Member to experience the food and the service, and perhaps consider joining. One of the top priorities and low hanging fruit for Michelle, is a better coffee experience. In a market where Brew-Ha Ha sets the bar for most Delawareans, you’d better be able to offer something comparable. Chef Richard will be working on exemplary plating with mandatory Instagram-able results for every dish brought to the dining room. The first new Member focused menu will be available May 1st. While University and Whist Members first met their new Executive Chef on Tuesday March 19th, Non-Whist Member Delawareans can welcome Chef Graham at the Delaware State Chamber’s Taste of Delaware event in the Senate in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 3rd. Chef Graham will exercise his culinary chops at the Whist Club during Wilmington’s City Restaurant Week. The club is participating and open for Non-Members to make reservations Tuesday, April 9th through Saturday, April 13th. Reservations are also being accepted for Easter Buffet on Sunday, April 21st, all by calling (302) 658-5125. It will take about six months of collaboration for the Triad to rollout their new food experience creations. During that time, they will be sampling and trying out various concepts throughout the summer. Non-Members will have the opportunity to try out these concepts first hand during Wednesdays at The Whist, when the club is open every Wednesday in July and August to Non-Members. With Michelle’s Google Innovation Lab for Food Experiences, health and wellness experience, Chef Richard’s global restaurant concept development experience, combined with Chef Graham and the other Whist Club culinary team member’s experience, the future is bright for Wilmington’s premiere, private, city-dining club.