Being a star chef can be exhausting business – a fact few know better than Michael DeMaria. Famed for Michael’s at the Citadel, Heirloom and other much-admired Valley restaurants, the 63-year-old culinary pro ultimately left the up-and-down, workaday world of retail dining to focus on M Culinary Concepts, the company he launched in 1999 and quietly built into the Valley’s largest catering firm. The Phoenix Open is one of his biggest clients – last year, M Culinary served 400,000 pounds of food across nine hospitality venues.
How has the menu changed over the years?
We started out with basic foods, like salads, sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, and fried chicken. Then it morphed into regional cuisine, like Italian Day, Mexican Day, etc. Then it became more grab-and-go-ish items, with pick-up stations so people don’t have to wait. Now it’s almost all of the above.
What haven’t you tried yet?
You can’t do fine dining like beef Wellington, but we have done everything from dim sum to sliced deli stations to carved prime rib. The Bay Club overlooking 17 has some of the most fun foods, like lamb with hummus and tzatziki sauce, five different styles of fried rice, and a broccoli and cauliflower crunch salad. We’re getting away from old-fashioned turkey, ham and cheese sandwiches with macaroni salad.
How has your tournament team grown Since your first Phoenix open back in 2002?
It was around 100 people during the early days. Now it’s about 800 to 900, with cooks, waiters, bus boys, managers and others at our off-site commissary, which produces the food that is then delivered every night to the TPC Scottsdale.
What do you do when you get home Sunday night?
I’m a football fan, so I tape the Super Bowl. Usually by the time we break everything down and I leave the course, it’s a little after halftime. I get home, spark up the hot dogs on the grill, light a cigar, sit back, watch the game and relax.
