By Steve Eubanks
Sometimes sharing a little information leads you in directions you never imagined. As part of a “get to know your staff” campaign, the marketing department at the Creek Club in Georgia asked Executive Chef Zouhair Bellout to share a video about his background.
“I grew up in Fez,” Bellout said, referring to the second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca. “I went to culinary school there. After culinary school, Disney held a job fair (in Morocco) and I attended and got a job in Florida. From there I went to various clubs. But my wife is from Atlanta, so when the position opened up at Creek Club, it made perfect sense for us to move close to her parents.”
Upon learning his background, members at the private club asked the next logical question: What, exactly, is Moroccan food?
“Members definitely had an interest in trying dishes from my country and culture,” Bellout said. “So I offered a few specials. People got interested in trying more dishes. Demand grew and we started offering Moroccan tagine as an occasional special. It’s a slow-cooked stew with lots of variety and a lot of native spices, which is what I grew up eating.”
The dishes proved to be such a hit that they now are a permanent part of the Creek Club menu. “We now offer a different tagine every month,” Zouhair said.
Sometimes expanding diversity in the golf business is as simple as asking the right question. When it’s answered, members like those at Creek Club have their horizons broadened in the tastiest of ways.