It's often said that you can stage your home perfectly, but guests always congregate in the kitchen. In many ways, it’s the heart of the home. And that same inviting atmosphere surrounds you in Brook Valley Country Club’s sun-soaked dining room, where Chef Kenric Hunt is often seen greeting guests. Just as the club’s 2015 golf course restoration project brought more people out to play, and clubhouse renovations attracted young families, Hunt’s passion for cooking has delighted members old and new and anchored the community at Brook Valley.

Executing A Vision

“When I came to look at the club for the first time, it wasn’t the prettiest picture,” Hunt recalls. John McConnell had only recently been given the keys, and the kitchen was in a state of disarray. “My wife always says, ‘Look through the mess.’ So I asked myself, ‘Is there something that can be done? Is this something I really want to do?’ The answer was ‘Yes.’”

It took a lot of work in a short amount of time for his vision to come to fruition. “Chef brought a great attitude into the project and upon reopening, he really impressed the membership and local community,” reflects Club Manager Phillip Loney.

One of his early moves was to build a diverse culinary team. Sous Chef Dave Larson, who hails from New England, expanded the kitchen’s repertoire, complementing Hunt’s French-influenced coastal classics with his own specialties. The kitchen offers dishes that members might not serve at home. “You have to think about what makes the experience memorable and exciting for your members,” Hunt explains. 

He extends credit for the success to the entire kitchen crew: Ms. Joyce, Ms. Mellissa, Mr. Roderick, Ms. Nea, Dylan, and Sous Chef Dave. “Without everyone working together I can’t be as creative. I’d have to worry about all the parts of each dish, the ingredients, the method, and whether my dishes are clean,” he explains. “Your crew is your backbone.”

A Place to Grow

For Hunt, cooking has always been about people. Growing up, he cooked with his mother, watched his uncles grill at family gatherings, and prepared evening meals for his siblings. “I got my professional start in restaurants, but in that fast-paced environment you only know the table number you’re cooking for, not the people,” he says. 

When a friend first told him that he might be well-suited for the private club environment, Hunt admits that country clubs weren’t the first thing that came to mind when he thought about exciting cuisine. Starting at the Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach soon changed his mind. “Going to a private club was a necessity. I needed to slow it down and get deeper into cooking and become more well-rounded.”

That same care in knowing who you cook for comes through for Brook Valley’s members every time the kitchen is open. “It took some time, but we transformed the kitchen into something really special,” he reflects.

The Ringer

Certainly his early life experiences and the close-knit team in the kitchen have the most influence on the cuisine Brook Valley’s members enjoy. However, as Hunt notes, inspiration can come from unexpected places.

 “Probably my most memorable dining event was the Chef versus Member Rib Cook-Off in 2015,” he recounts. “There were five teams and we structured it like an official cook-off with judges; the members ate and told us their favorite.” 

The collaborative nature of the event was exciting. Those with grills in their backyard have their own special tricks, and Greenville boasts a thriving tailgate culture — so the competition was formidable. Despite the staff’s best effort, they came in second place. 

“We had no idea what we were up against!” Hunt laughs. The champion was Brook Valley member Scott Shook, who is a semi-professional barbeque cooker. Bonding over smoke and flame that day, the two became pals, and another cook-off is hopefully in the works for later this year.

The Road Ahead

The team’s passion ensures that momentum gained from the past two years won’t be squandered. As part of an initiative that spans McConnell Golf properties, Hunt is working with a local farm coalition to incorporate locally sourced meat and produce into Brook Valley’s menu. 

Hunt’s role in the club’s culinary success brings to mind a familiar theme. As Donald Ross wrote to his protégé and the future designer of Brook Valley’s golf course Ellis Maples, “Give consideration to others, do some good, however small, every day of your life. However humble our work may be, we all have our little niche in this world’s work.”

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What better way to fend of winter’s chill than to curl up with a bowl of hearty chili? My take on this seasonal classic balances fresh peppers with bright coriander to remind us that spring will come again soon.

I’m pleased to share the following recipe at the request of many members whom wish to enjoy it at home as well as at the club. Our food is meant to be shared so invite a few friends over and let be more in 2017!  

Chef Kenric's Chili 

Serving for 4-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound of cooked and drained ground beef
• 28oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 each medium diced red, green, and yellow pepper
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• S/p to taste
• 2 tbsp. Chili powder
• 1tsp Coriander
• ½tsp Garlic chopped
• 1 cup cooked black beans

Preparation

1. In a large sauce pan brown and chop ground beef, remove meat and drain fat
2. Place vegetables in the pan sauté for 2 to 3 minutes
3. Add tomato, beans, and beef
4. Stir in all seasoning (If thick add in 1 cup of water)
5. Allow to cook on low heat for 1 to 2 hours
6. Serve with cheese and crusty bread or crackers

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Ingredients

3 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 cups white vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 cups of cauliflower, zucchini, or any vegetable you like  

2 cloves garlic, whole

Directions

Stir water, vinegar, sugar, and sea salt together in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely.

Combine cucumber spears, garlic cloves, and fresh dill in a large glass or plastic container. Pour cooled vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture. Seal container with lid and refrigerate for at least three days.

Plating

Use fresh fruit of your choice and cheese.

Dressing

1 cup of balsamic vinegar

¼ cup of sugar

Combine and reduce to syrup and drizzle over finished plate

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RDUTennis previously served as the tennis instruction for Brook Valley Country Club for three years. Now, under McConnell Golf ownership, RDUTennis is excited at their return to the club - especially with a very successful summer camp already under their belt.

This summer, we look forward to offering a series of five weeks of summer camp, along with youth and adult clinics. These are led by Mirrah Warren, a junior at East Carolina University, whom has many years of experience coaching adults and children throughout her high school and college career. She is also available for private lessons for members, and currently teaches the Fall Tennis Clinics held every Thursday evening at the Club. 

Together with RDUTennis, Brook Valley will host another series of camps in 2016, along with a clinic program for adults and children lined up in March. 

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Whether you are playing in an individual stroke play competition, a two person best ball net, a four player member-guest or an interclub competition, the goal is always the same in golf – to score the best you possibly can for either yourself or your team. How do you score better to attain a goal? The key to scoring the best you possibly can each time you head out to play is to understand the components that make up the score. Every score or team result in a golf competition is achieved by playing a round of golf. Every round of golf is broken down into 18 (or sometimes 9) holes of golf, each with their own individual score. Every hole of golf is broken into four components – the shots you will hit to achieve the score on the hole: 

1. The Tee Shot
   1. The tee shot starts the game plan for how each hole is played. How you play the remaining shots on the hole starts with where you put the ball off the tee.
2. Play From Tee to Green
   1. If the tee shot is the start of your game plan for each hole you play, your play from the tee shot to the green is how you use that game plan. The key is to make whatever adjustments you can to get yourself back on track in the least amount of shots.
3. Approach Shots
   1. Once you have played yourself into a position to reach the green, you now have to hit that crucial shot that gets the ball into a position where you can putt it. Most wasted shots in a round come from this position! If you really want to improve your score, you need to learn how to chip (hit the ball along the ground to run to the whole), to pitch (hit the ball in the air to reach the hole) and to hit shots from the bunker. Eliminating strokes around the green is crucial in lowering your score (that’s why they are dubbed the “scoring shots”).
4. Putting
   1. If the Tee Shot is important because it is how you start the hole, Putting becomes THE most important part because it is how you finish the hole. The best thing about putting – anybody can do it well and there are several different methods to use to do it correctly!

 Scoring or competing is how you put those four different components together to arrive at the best score you can for either yourself or your team. Of course there will be some variables along the way within those four components, and playing golf to score your best is all about seamlessly navigating through each component of play while understanding and reacting to the variables as they arrive.

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In 1760, King Charles bestowed a tract of land in Greenville, North Carolina, to a native family, who later sold the property to the Brooks family. They maintained the land for centuries before selling it for development — today, it is Brook Valley Country Club, and a copy of the royal charter still adorns the club’s front walls. Last October, McConnell Golf purchased the property and promptly began a two-year, $2 million capital improvement plan to rejuvenate the club while also honoring its history.

The Early Years

Two centuries after King Charles’ royal charter, in 1966, Brook Valley Country Club officially opened its doors. The golf course was designed by renowned Pinehurst-based architect Ellis Maples, and the club wanted a community to match its turf.

A mid-1950s graduate of N.C. State with degrees in civil engineering and construction, Pittman had been teaching art in a local community college at the time when he was invited to join a small, Greenville-based engineering firm called Rivers and Associates. Led by Tom Rivers, one of the original Brook Valley investors, the studio was charged with executing the primary design for the new community and golf club, surveying and determining how to best mix in residential lots with the golf course.

Pittman’s work included everything from widening the highway for a deceleration turn lane at the Brook Valley entrance, to moving and redesigning the dam for the community lake, to helping design the swimming pool and bathhouse as well as the parking lot and several bridges around the golf course — along with the then-cutting-edge planning of a split-level clubhouse that housed the golf carts underneath. “It was a big project for a year or two, sculpting it all out,” Pittman says. Brook Valley’s sporting history includes an exhibition match between legends Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. A young Curtis Strange once won a tournament there, as did 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson.

Facelift

Fast-forward a few years, and the golf community still supports Brook Valley’s potential. PGA Tour professional Will MacKenzie grew up in Greenville and regularly played at Brook Valley. “It’s definitely got some of the best rolling terrain we have in Greenville,” he says. “Brook Valley’s golf course was always a step above the others [in the area] in shot quality and feel, how the golf course was routed. But it needed to be restored.” McConnell Golf saw and seized that opportunity. Its Brook Valley improvement plan included upgrades to the clubhouse and golf course alike. Indoors, dining areas have been remodeled and restructured for beauty in all event styles. The bar and lounge area includes a fireplace, snack bar, and adjacent patio seating.

The pro shop has been entirely updated, and the club’s main level now features hardwood flooring. In recognition of the club’s past, elegant French doors lead to the ballroom. Yet, the most noticeable upgrade is an emphasis on sweeping views of the course. After all, that’s what won members’ hearts in the first place.

Return to Its Roots

The course and practice area have been renovated under the tutelage of Greensboro- based golf course architect Kris Spence. Spence has carved out a niche for himself in the Southeast by restoring Donald Ross — and Ellis Maples — designed golf courses. Like Ross and Maples, Spence comes at architecture from the perspective of a course superintendent. Using Maples’ original drawings, Spence’s work at Brook Valley includes bunkering and one green modification (on hole No. 2), along with significant tree removal, a pond dredging, and the relocation of a number of cart paths. “We brought the Ellis Maples bunkering back, as well as adding a few bunkers to modernize the golf course,” Spence said. “Brook Valley is a very nice mix of golf holes with a lot of variety. The par-fives in particular are some of the best three-shooters I’ve seen.” Known for their top-shelf practice facilities, McConnell Golf had Spence take BVCC’s existing practice facility — which was too short and did not have the elements of a well-defined target — and increase the size by lengthening the practice tee itself.

“We put full construction under (the practice area) with drainage and laser leveling,” Spence said. “We added a short-game area between the practice tee and the clubhouse that includes a shortgame green, a bunker and chipping fairway around it and also added a small warm-up green behind to the first tee ox — another McConnell Golf signature.”

Enduring Inspiration

It’s an overhaul even the original visionary appreciates. Alongside his development work, Pittman garnered a reputation in eastern North Carolina as an artist, too. “While I was doing Brook Valley and all the other work around the state, I was also painting,” Pittman says. “I was painting some of these scenes I saw out in the rural areas, the tobacco barns and the farmscapes and the little towns. I’d see something I wanted to paint and I’d throw on the brakes and take a picture of it or do a sketch.”

Lately, he’s returned to his first project for inspiration. A recent portrayal of the updated Brook Valley clubhouse earned regional attention, although Pittman says he never intended to be recognized. “It just sort of evolved,” he says of his art. “It never was the plan.” Likewise, Brook Valley has and will continue to evolve. “Everyone always said Brook Valley was the best layout in Greenville,” MacKenzie says. And the legacy continues.

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