Most days throughout the year you can find Kirk Bennett at Garland Lodge & Golf Resort. Yet, of the northern Michigan golf destination’s four championship tracks and new, reversible short course, he hasn’t played a single one!
“I don’t have time,” said Garland’s executive chef for the past decade. “It’s been about 20 years since I swung a club. I’m a little rusty, to say the least.”
While Bennett is far from a scratch golfer, he is absolutely on top of his game in the kitchen where he and his crew craft seasonal menus full of delicious dishes made from scratch. We caught up with Chef Kirk while he was grouting kitchen tile to talk about the resort’s flavorful food, what to expect on upcoming menus and why he loves Garland.
Here’s a rundown of our chat:
Chef Kirk came to the resort 10 years ago and has strived to bring innovative ingredients and culinary creativity to each of Garland’s dining venues. Take the Beastloaf, for example. It’s a blend of elk, wild boar, wagyu and bison with fresh herbs and vegetables, all topped with mushroom bordelaise sauce and paired with buttermilk whipped potatoes and roasted baby carrots. Yum!
“A problem with the industry today is that a lot of people’s food tastes the same, and it’s because it is the same,” Chef Kirk said. “We try to do 90% of everything from scratch. Any sauces, we make those in house. We cut our own meats, butcher our own fish. I’m pretty old-school like that.”
Each year Chef Kirk and his team come up with a fresh menu for spring that’s available in May when Garland opens for the season. Then a midsummer menu comes out around the end of July and the start of August, and that’s available through the end of the golf season in October. Garland also opens for about 8 weeks of winter fun, and there’s a special winter menu for that time of year.
There are certain staples: “We always have a Caesar because people love a Caesar,” for example, and “I always try to keep salmon on the menu.” Yet even those dishes have a different style from one season to the next. The salmon might be topped with a pistachio crust during one time of year and with a sesame glaze the next.
“I really do like to change it up,” Chef Kirk said. “It keeps it fresh for me. Keeps my employees learning new things. And we get a lot of repeat business and people want to try different things.”
See the Current Menu at Garland
Garland hosted special culinary events in January and February including a Wild Game Dinner and a Bell’s Beer Dinner. The five-course menu for the Wild Game Dinner featured a pheasant pâté appetizer, quail salad and a juniper marinade on a bison flank steak with wild mushroom and roasted parsnip, plus Eagle Creek trout with Lingonberry sauce and huckleberry cheesecake for dessert. Mmm!
Meanwhile, what was the fan-favorite pairing for Bell’s beer?
“Everybody loved the fish taco,” Chef Kirk said. “They want it on the menu this summer.”
“I like everything,” Chef Kirk says. “I love Thai food. Japanese. I love a good burger. Pizza. Mexican food. I love cooking me a good steak on the grill.”
Bennett used to create themed buffets built around a particular flavor or style of food. But not every themed dinner was a hit.
“I don’t think they enjoyed my Thai food as much as I do!” Chef Kirk said. “I’m looking into bringing back a couple themes. We used to do, like, a Mexican Monday. I’d like to get back into doing those.”
As for another Thai-themed night? “We’ll see.” People did rave about the Pad Thai salad on a recent menu.
Bennett has worked in the dining industry since 1984, spending much of his career in metro Detroit at various restaurants, golf clubs and retirement homes. He moved up north when his late father got sick and went looking for a job. Garland called back.
“I fell in love with this business a long time ago and here I am,” Chef Kirk said. “I love the area. I love the peace and quiet. It got pretty old taking 2 hours to drive 40 miles (in metro Detroit).
“I love a good challenge, too, and Garland is definitely challenging at times. You get four golf courses full of golfers coming off at the same time and this place gets busy pretty quick.”
The resort bought a slushie machine a couple years ago and serves alcoholic slushies at the Garland Tiki Bar outside the lodge where there’s both bar and table seating to enjoy on long summer nights.
“Out on the patio midsummer is just a beautiful place to be,” Chef Kirk said. “It’s its own little world out there. It’s just a happy place.
“If you’re not happy sitting out there on the patio with the fire and the beautiful views and the nice weather, I don’t know where you would be.”
Bennett enjoys working with his dedicated crew of cooks and dishwashers, handling the rush of busy summer days and the creativity of fresh, seasonal menus. Plus, the customers are a joy.
“It’s a good core crew around here,” Chef Kirk said. “Everybody’s nice and laid back. And every week we get different groups coming in, so you get different opinions. You get to talk to them and see what food’s like where they’re from. I always look for new and exciting things that might be out there.”
Once you arrive at Garland Lodge & Golf Resort, your tee shots are the only drives you’ll make the entire time you’re there. That’s because everything at the resort – the five […]
For half the year, Garland is known for its wealth of beautifully scenic golf courses. Then, for two months, when snow covers the ground, the resort becomes a winter wonderland. […]
