The holidays evoke powerful memories of time spent with family and friends, hours of meal preparation and dinners which lasted for hours and even days. Ask anyone about their childhood memories of holiday meals and you will hear a plethora of stories about special gifts, lots of visitors, playing games and watching football on television. Our Chefs experienced many of those same traditions but to no one’s surprise, food was a big part of their holiday events. As we prepare for the winter season on the Mountain, we asked our Chefs to share their heartwarming holiday stories, rekindling emotional and joyful memories.
Greg Guevarra
Oklahoma Memories from the Heart
For Chef Greg Guevarra, Assistant Director of Culinary, food is the gateway to heart and home. Growing up in Norman, Oklahoma, in a Filipino-American family, he learned at an early age that everyone has the commonality of a story to tell through the food they eat. He also readily acknowledges he may not be the best cook in his family, even with his culinary education. “Everyone in my family can throw down when it comes to cooking,” said Guevarra. Recipes were not strict formulas but more of a guideline shared from one generation to the next.
His best memories of holiday meals are of huge spreads of food with every one contributing. Combined with family and lots of laughter, the holidays imparted joyful emotions that stay with him to this day. When he has rare opportunities to gather with his Oklahoma family, Chef Guevarra takes a back seat to his mother in the kitchen out of love, respect and tradition. Family time is the opportunity to slow down from his usual fast paced culinary world.
“Happy cooks make good food,” said Guevarra. “Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good. Some of the best meals my family made were considered simple comfort food such as pot roast. But that aligns with living in the moment and slowing down to spend time with family.”
Christmas was one of his favorite times, not because of gifts but because his family gave with their hearts through their food. His family consisted of about 25 people who would arrive on Christmas Eve day to prepare and cook. Greg remembers his cousins rolling Lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) which would be a side dish alongside more traditional American dishes such as turkey, stuffing and cream corn. After prepping the food, the entire family would head out to Christmas Eve Mass and return home to open presents at midnight. In addition, they would play board games and card games till nearly 5 a.m. On Christmas morning, the adults would rise first and cook breakfast for everyone, followed by more family fun and more food. During these two-day family parties, someone was always eating! Now that Greg has children, he plans to continue the family tradition and help build new holiday meal memories.Adam Plecker
Virginia Family-Style Traditions
The Appalachian Mountains of Virginia are home for Adam Plecker, Executive Sous Chef for the Cochise/Geronimo Clubhouse. He grew up on a dirt road with his grandparents right next door. It was at their house where his memories of holiday meals were formed. It was also where he first learned to cook southern style comfort food beginning at age 12, which inspired him to pursue cooking as a career. Holidays centered around faith, food, family, and football. Each holiday, Adam’s Papaw (grandfather) and grandma would start cooking at 7 a.m. Other family members would gather throughout the morning and contribute to the food preparation until the diners grew to about 20 people. Thanksgiving was the traditional turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cookies.
“With such a big group of people, we had to eat in shifts,” said Chef Plecker. “The kids always ate first and the adults would eat second. Like many families, we’d then all watch football or play games, followed by snacks and then another big meal of leftovers. We continued this same process for two or three days.”
While the menu changed for other holidays, such as a whole ham with pineapples and cherries for Christmas, the multi-day feasting was part of the tradition. Even Sunday family meals followed a modified Thanksgiving process of a crockpot dinner which allowed for family time together. Plecker’s love for cooking for large groups began to grow and it eventually became his career. After working 13 years at the famous Homestead Resort, he headed west to Desert Mountain. While the scenery may have shifted from evergreens to cacti, Plecker’s love for holiday meal traditions continues to this day.The love for great cuisine is evident all over Desert Mountain. Inside each restaurant, you will find chefs that care deeply about the food they serve to the Members. If you are looking for a club that shares in the dining experience you seek, talk with our Membership team today.
