Meet the chefs at Mercer County’s public golf course restaurants, creators of not widely publicized but superb dining experiences in our area. All are passionate about cooking and find immense satisfaction in witnessing customers savor the results of their creations.
It should be noted that the chefs are employed by catering companies that operate on county golf courses. The companies earn their spots through a competitive bidding process and are evaluated weekly by county officials — palate-pleasing offerings are a key part of the bidding and evaluations.
While the companies are required to be open to the public for lunch at the golf courses, they can use the facilities for evening dining or private events. The bulk of the chefs’ public servings — reservations not required — are centered on lunches. At the close of lunch hours, most engage in preparing and creating meals for private, catered, or special public events.
Throughout spring, summer, and fall these men will serve thousands of patrons. On a hot June day alone, their combined output over the county’s five courses can add up to 500 lunches, with menus offered in an incredible variety of ethnic foods as well as down-home cooking and pub snacks. They love the challenges, ones filled with hours not only of hard work but also creative planning. Each chef has stories to tell and favorite recipes of their own creation. In alphabetical order by golf course, here they are.
Hopewell Valley Golf Club
Dan Germhardt, Baron Dillon Grille Room
Germhardt is a Hopewell born and bred chef, one who has loved cooking since childhood. He arrived as chef at the Hopewell Valley Golf Club through a rather circuitous route. Upon graduating from Hopewell High School, he worked in construction. Through a friend, however, he heard about an opening at Chez Alice, a long time Princeton patisserie that is now part of the Harvest Hospitality Group (HHG).
From working with hammers, power saws, and nails, Germhardt switched to prepping fresh fruit and vegetables. He loved it. After nine years of experience in all areas of food preparation, he was awarded his HHG current assignment at the Hopewell Valley Golf Club. Given its rather remote location — it is, after all, surrounded by golf greens and open space — evening meals are centered on special events, such as Jazz Nights, or private gatherings.
Lunch offerings reflect the pub atmosphere of the restaurant’s dark brown wood setting: quesadillas, Feltman’s hot dogs, chicken po-boys, tater-tots, three kinds of hamburgers, and spicy chicken wings. The last is special, featuring a marinade created by Germhardt. As he tells the story, “I woke up at 3 one morning and came up with this idea for a special sauce, complete with all ingredients. When I got up four hours later, I told myself to try it. And I did.” And now it is one of the most popular items on the menu.
Items are priced between $7 for a stuffed mushroom appetizer and $19 for the cowboy burger.
Hopewell Valley Golf Club, 114 Pennington-Hopewell Road, Hopewell. Open Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays for brunch, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 609-737-1199. www.hvgc.com.
Mercer Oaks East and West
Samuel Tasej and Odir Solis, Grill Room
With two golf courses and the largest event space, two chefs are needed for this location, which is under the auspices of Jim Hines’ Mercer Oaks Catering. Among Mercer County’s four golf course restaurants, Hines is the longest contract holder. Tasej and Solis have been with him throughout most of the period. Tasej, who came from the Bristol Myers Squibb employee kitchen, has been the chef du jour at Mercer Oaks for 18 years. Odir joined him 10 years ago, when an opening occurred among the staff.
Hines is swift to give praise to the two: “These guys are responsible for creating the quality of food Mercer Oaks Catering is known for.” He further adds, “They are easy to work with and have a lot of creativity and capabilities.”
The two enjoy working together because they not only complement each other but are also free to introduce their own creations. Tasej, for example, favors his combination of green herbs pounded into a steak. “It brings out different flavors,” he says. And he has created a honey mustard sauce for the Grille’s popular crispy chicken sandwich.
For his part, Solis likes to do soups and is known for his tortilla chicken soup. His creative streak extends to the sausage that he has assembled as an ingredient in the restaurant’s version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich.
Though special, these chefs’ entrees are staples of the club’s lunch offerings.
Mercer Oaks, 725 Village Road West, Princeton Junction. 609-275-9260. www.merceroakscatering.com.
Mountain View Golf Course
Jose Hilaro, The Patio at Mountain View
Hilaro is also a self-taught chef but one who, in a sense, suffered along the way to The Patio at Mountain View. He started his culinary career by washing dishes, graduated through on-the-job training to prep, and then worked his way up to being a pastry chef. He toiled in that position at a local restaurant, creating sumptuous, sugary treats for eight years. “And I really don’t like sweets,” he emphatically states.
Finally, he won his current job and the opportunity to show off his diverse culinary talents beyond sweets. The Patio, with indoor and, on nice days, outdoor settings, offers specials every day. His absolute favorite is a strip steak with a chimichurri sauce. This staple in Argentina and Uruguay is a green sauce packed with olive oil, green herbs, garlic, and red pepper flakes. There’s lots of room for tinkering with quantities of each ingredient, and Hilaro has created a winner as far as customers go. Of course, the recipe is secret.
Another customer winner and one offered just about every day is the grilled chicken and orzo salad. It’s not a favorite with Hilaro, who enjoys creative challenges. This salad, he says “is a simple offering.” What’s more, he continues, “every time I try to take if off the menu the customers demand that I put it back.” He concludes: “So, of course, I do.”
Most menu items are priced between $8 and $16, with daily lunch specials for $12 each.
Mountain View Golf Course, 890 Bear Tavern Road, Ewing. Open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 609-538-0808. www.thepatio.io.
Princeton Country Club
James Graham, Jagarah’s Restaurant
Graham is the only golf club chef who is a catering company owner and who is not self taught. As a company owner, Graham is responsible for all aspects of the club’s staff, offerings, and settings. While the club does feature a dark, pub style room, he credits his wife, Stephanie (a high school sweetheart), for ensuring that a larger, separate area is decorated with white table clothes, green napkins, and floral centerpieces to create a bright, attractive, and welcoming setting.
Graham learned the basics of French cooking at the New York Food and Hotel Management School in New York City. As a result, he readily admits, “I love butter, olive oil, and cream.”
When he came to the Princeton Country Club — after years and some weight gain at other restaurants — he found every ethnicity walking through the door. As a result, the palette of his offerings has expanded to include all the various national backgrounds — Indian, Chinese, Latin American, Cajun, and that of his own North Carolina childhood, southern comfort food.
“I call my menus American cooking,” he says, “because no matter what your background, we are all Americans living here today.”
He prepares seasonal menus and offers specials every week. His favorite recipe — and that of his customers as well — is an oxtail soup of his own creation. Rice, braised cabbage, peas, and plantains are part of the ingredients. “When I’m really busy,” he says, “I will serve gallons of this soup on a summer day.”
Prices range from $13 for the house salad to $28 for the braised oxtail entree. The restaurant also features a brunch menu served Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with items ranging from $10 for avocado toast to shrimp or catfish and grits for $20. An example of the type of special evening programming hosted at these golf course restaurants occurs this Friday, May 24, with karaoke night featuring DJ Edward Ward from 7 to 10 p.m.
Princeton Country Club, 1 Wheeler Way, Princeton. Open from 11 a.m., Tuesdays through Sundays. 732-604-5309. www.diningwiththebishop.com.
As indicated above, the chefs are working in unique circumstances. They are part of Mercer County’s competitive bidding process, one that awards a restaurant a three-year contract, with an option for a two-year extension. At the end of five years, each company must compete for a renewal. Quality of food and excellence in preparation rather than price alone are important keys to that renewal.
Within these rigorous criteria, the chefs must not only satisfy customers but demonstrate that they can do so more than any competitor. They are also — and this is what gives each immense satisfaction — free to be creative to meet such goals.
While it is easy to schedule an evening dinner or event at each restaurant, tempting luncheon treats are offered without reservations. They are open to golfers or for those wanting to just relax and savor good food in bucolic surroundings. Enjoy!
Odir Solis, left, and Samuel Tasej of Mercer Oaks East and West in West Windsor.,
Jose Hilaro of Mountain View Golf Course.,
