Behind the Line: Meet the Signatures’ staff

Name, Title at Signatures: Laura Hofford, Front of House Supervisor

Age: 22

Time worked at Signatures: 2 Years in June

Favorite food memory: “When we were little, I only lived a mile from my grandma so we’d walk over there and pick fresh strawberries, blueberries and pea pods and eat them. They were so good.”

Last meal on Earth: “My mom’s homemade chow mein, and of course, ice cream at the end of the meal. I love vanilla ice cream with sprinkles on top–the sugar sprinkles.”

Favorite Winter 2012 menu item: “Agnolotti with shrimp because I love squash. I cook it all the time at home. I love the texture and the creaminess.”

Most delicious morsel ever tasted at Signatures: “Tomato basil soup. It’s the only tomato basil soup I’ll eat. I don’t know what it is, but it’s great. I also love to dip the French baguette in—mmmmm.”

Something guests/coworkers might not know about you: “I was pulled out of my Catholic school and was home schooled for a year in fifth grade. My mom wanted to try it, but I hated it, so I went back to school that next year. It was just too different for me.”

Construction Update: January 2012

The snow may have officially fallen–and stayed–but construction continues on the renovations to the Winona Golf & Dining properties.

All of the inside framing has been complete inside The Grill at Signatures as well as the new pro shop, and the electrical, plumbing and HVAC has been installed. In the second week of February, all of the new windows will be placed, and progress can still be watched through a special viewing window inside Signatures restaurant.

As construction continues, so does plans for readying The Grill for the public. Logo design is complete and has been officially unveiled.

“We knew we wanted to call it The Grill at Signatures to stay within the family–just like Visions Event Center at Signatures,” said President of Winona Golf & Dining David Wilson. “The logo was developed through trial and error, and the final design goes back to the mix of block lettering and script, so we think it keeps everything going so it blends.”

Wilson also said that the last of the details are starting to fall into place as the countdown for the grand opening has begun. Point-of-sales equipment is being ordered and new pieces for The Grill are being decided upon, in order to arrive in the eight weeks left before mid-March.

Stay tuned for more as construction continues.

More than dried bread

By now, a regular Signatures’ blog reader would see that it’s all in the details when it comes to preparing each and every dish on our menu. Exactly how far do we take it? Down to the bread crumbs.

Each house fresh garden salad is adorned with homemade croutons–extra crunchy, herby cubes of starchy bliss to dip into one of our house-made dressings; (try the lemon-parsley vinaigrette yet?!) The process may be simple, but it’s one that the garmache chefs take on regularly during their nights behind the line.

According to Andrew Smith, garmache chef at Signatures, making croutons was one of the very first jobs he learned as a new chef, and he eagerly demonstrated the process Monday night to a garmache trainee just notching Day 2 off of his training list.

Smith said that they make croutons about two times per week, but during the busy season, they could bake off fresh croutons each day.

First, they begin by taking a whole ciabatta bread loaf and cutting it down into bite-sized pieces. The bread cubes are then coated in olive oil, herbs, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper and baked off at a low heat. Why not crisp them up in 2 minutes flat at 450 degrees? Because the croutons need to cook all the way through and not have a hard exterior and a soft interior. The secret behind a perfect crouton is all in the crunch throughout.

Behind the Line: Meet the Signatures’ staff

Name, Title at Signatures: Chelsea Spilker, host and banquet server

Age: 20

Time worked at Signatures: 3 months

Favorite food memory: “Every year, we always make cookies with my mom and decorate them for the specific holiday–Easter, Halloween, Christmas–any holiday. Now that my brothers and sisters are having kids, we are continuing it with them which is really fun.”

Last meal on Earth: “A New York strip steak, no blood, medium well, with Coke in a can and mashed potatoes. I would be completely satisfied with just that. Then I would have chocolate cake with chocolate icing, of course.”

Favorite Winter 2012 menu item: “The carrot cake because it’s not your usual carrot cake. I normally can’t have it because I’m allergic to walnuts, and we don’t make ours with the nuts. I’m a dessert kind of person.”

Most delicious morsel ever tasted at Signatures: “Steak from the Fall 2011 menu–it was the New York strip steak so that’s why. You just can’t go wrong with it and it’s the only type of steak I like.”

Something guests/coworkers might not know about you: “I went sky diving for the first time this past summer and I threw up on the tandem instructor mid-flight. He has jumped around 2500 times and I was the fifth person to do that. I felt so bad. It was amazing and I’d do it again, but I’d take motion sickness pills.”

Sit back and enjoy

The Signatures dining room received a welcome delivery this week as the new chairs were delivered, after a very long and arduous process, according to Winona Golf & Dining President David Wilson.

The final chairs took eight months of planning, envisioning and–ultimately–reordering, to get just right. Multiple sample chairs were sent throughout the decision-making process that did not live up to the standards Signatures’ management was hoping to set.

The distressed wood finish on the frame of the chair to the choices of fabric were all factors in the true fine dining seating experience that guests will receive with the new chairs.

“They are very comfortable chairs and really change the look of the dining room,” Wilson said.

Come take a load off and sample the new chairs for yourself. Your whole body will thank you.

A sausage by any other name

It may not be the prettiest process, but creating Signatures’ own sausage has been a labor of love for Sous Chef Joseph Foster for the Winter 2012 menu.

Featured on top of the white bean cassoulet accompanying the Lamb Shank dish on the entree menu, the house-made bison sausage has gone through some revamps during the creation of the seasonal menu.

“We did some practice runs, and now we’ve perfected the recipe,” Foster said.

The country game local bison sausage includes a much more delicate creation process than one might imagine. Foster said they start with a base recipe–specific quantities of meat, salt, pork fat and pork shoulder–to begin the sausage. About 25-30% of the base needs to be fat to maintain a moist texture throughout the links. From there, Foster said they add specific spices and ingredients to compliment the game the chefs are looking to showcase through the sausage.

In the hours-long process, Foster said he will create 6.5-7 pounds of sausage, which will equal about 50 six-inch links: a perfect, hearty topping to any bean dish!

Behind the Line: Meet the Signatures’ staff

Name, Title at Signatures: Zach Murphy, Chef de Partie

Age: 25

Time worked at Signatures: 2 1/2 years

Favorite food memory: “A barbeque I went to in Romania when I was 15 years old. I went to Romania with a missions trip for church. They had a big pit that they cooked a huge 1/2 pig inside. It was just a lot of fun, out in the country cooking.”

Last meal on Earth: “18 oz. ribeye–medium rare–with crab legs, duchess potatoes and a gin and tonic. No vegetables, and I’m not that big on dessert either.”

Favorite Winter 2011-2012 menu item: “I like the salmon roulade because it looks nice, and it’s got the table-side service which is different. It’s not easy to make, but it’s worth it.”

Most delicious morsel ever tasted at Signatures: “Joe’s Charlotte Dou dessert. There are lots of different flavors hitting you at different times and visually it looks awesome.”

Something guests/coworkers might not know about you: “I had a dog take a chunk out of my nose when I was two years old. It was at the babysitter’s house, and I had it’s toy in my mouth, which wasn’t the smartest idea.”

Signatures takes to the airwaves

The next time you turn on the radio switch in your car, beware: Signatures management and chefs will be singing the tunes of the restaurant and golf course; allowing no taste bud in the  broadcasting distance safe haven.

Winona Golf & Dining has partnered with WIZM NewsTalk 1410 out of La Crosse to bring listeners information and tidbits through two of their regular radio programs: Live Radio and Coulee Region Cooks. They will highlight upcoming events, exciting menu updates as well as regular discussions on renovations of the property.

Radio personalities stop into Signatures once a month and broadcast directly from our dining room: Live Radio runs from 6 a.m.-9 a.m.; Coulee Region Cooks from 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Despite their penchant for remaining behind the scenes, Signatures’ chefs see the radio programs as a way to promote their hard work and what keeps them excited each day.

“It’s fun for us and interesting for us, and we see it as part of our job: Education and sharing the knowledge that we have,” said Sous Chef Joseph Foster. “It shows how much we care and how much we love to do our jobs.”

Upcoming 2012 dates to tune in and hear Signatures on the radio:

January 12, February 9, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 7 and more to come!