The restaurant at Downingtown Country Club has a new look, a new menu and a new name: Seasons 18. The restaurant will be unveiling all of the changes starting on April 1 when it re-opens for the season. I sat down with the longtime chef at the restaurant, Scott Campbell, to get the dish on all the details.
Downingtown Dish: What was the inspiration for the new menu and the changes to the restaurant?
Chef Scott Campbell: We wanted to give the restaurant fresh appeal not only for our golfers, but for the community as well. So many people think that Country Club restaurants are high priced and stuffy. We want to offer a nice meal at a reasonable price utilizing the freshest ingredients. We want to enable local residents to have affordable options that support a local business in their own community. We will continue to offer hearty entrees, such as the house favorite crab cakes, but have expanded the menu to include casual fare, such as nachos, wings and burgers. This way we can meet the needs of diners who want a memorable meal as well as those stopping by for a quick bite.
DD: If you had to design your own “perfect meal”’ off of the new menu, from starter to entree to dessert, what would you choose?
SC: There is so much to choose from, but in order to get a well balanced meal, I would have to pick the Flatbread Pizza for my appetizer, which is topped with braised short rib, caramelized onion and cherry tomato. I would love the brand new Lobster Pot Pie for my main course. It has chunks of lobster meat, shallots, mushrooms and sweet corn and is served in a flaky pastry crust. To finish my meal, I would have the Country Apple Tart that I serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
DD: What made you decide to be a chef? Were there any defining culinary moments?
SC: Growing up, my father owned a restaurant in Media, PA, called Campbell’s Boat House. I spent my childhood working every job from front of the house to cleaning to helping out in the kitchen. My father was a self-trained chef. I loved it so much and decided to go to culinary school so I could take my skills to the next level. I attended The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill in Philadelphia and trained at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. I’ve been at Downingtown Country Club for five years now.
DD: What are your top three must have ingredients in your own pantry at home?
SC: Just THREE ingredients? I guess I would choose fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and a nice sea salt. With those three ingredients I can add layers of flavor to almost any dish. (Writer’s Note: Chef Scott looked horrified at the prospect of choosing just three ingredients. I wonder if he has ever seen Chopped on the Food Network?)
DD: What is your favorite dish to cook right now?
SC: If I was choosing off of the Seasons 18 menu, it would be Seared Petite Filets, the Mussel Pot or the bone-in 16 oz. Strip Steak. At home I like to cook fresh seafood like seared scallops, steamed clams and mussels, or seared tuna.
Seasons 18, as well as Downingtown Country Club, is open to the public. The club’s par 72 golf course is ranked one of the top five public golf courses in the Philadelphia metro area. A classically designed on-site banquet facility also hosts meetings and special events that can accommodate 250 to 300 guests.
Join Seasons 18 on Friday, April 5, for a celebration of the re-opening with live music from the John Hoey Orchestra. Seasons 18 will showcase live music on most Friday nights.
The Downingtown Country Club is located at 93 Country Club Drive in Downingtown. For information on banquets and the restaurant, call (610) 873-0800.
All photos courtesy of Wil Reiner, Reiner Photography.
