Visiting Chef Dinner Features Luxury Resort’s Beverage Director

Published 01.16.2015

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The Spring 2015 edition of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Visiting Chef Series will feature Brian McClure, beverage director for The Greenbrier, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest luxury resorts.

Penn College’s Visiting Chef Series provides students pursuing associate and bachelor’s degrees in baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality management with an opportunity to work alongside renowned hospitality-industry professionals. As a culmination to the visit, the students produce a grand meal that raises money for scholarship funds. The Spring 2015 Visiting Chef Dinner will be held Feb. 27.

During the event, McClure will share his knowledge of wine with diners as they experience the elegant five-course meal prepared by students and faculty. While on campus, he will also speak to students in the Hospitality and Beverage Management Service and Controls course.



Brian McClureMcClure joined The Greenbrier, a historic 10,000-acre resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 2013. At the 710-room facility, he directs a $10 million program that includes 13 beverage outlets, with four distinct wine lists in the fine-dining outlets and 11 different glass programs.

He holds a Level 4 Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and will apply in 2015 to enter the three-year Master of Wine program, one of the highest standards within the profession.

Prior to joining The Greenbrier, McClure was wine director at the Lake Placid Lodge, where, within a year, he expanded the resort’s wine program from 1,100 selections and a cellar of about 6,000 bottles to more than 1,600 selections and 8,000 bottles, receiving Wine Spectator magazine’s Best of Award of Excellence.

Before his career in hospitality, McClure spent over a decade teaching history. Originally from New York, he worked in restaurants and hotels while he pursued two graduate-school degrees. Among his posts, he worked as a sommelier at Sagamore Resort in Lake George, New York, where he was exposed to some of the best wines in the world. His passion was sparked as he became fascinated by flavor profiles in food and wine and all the influences that help constitute them.

Though he left the hospitality profession to pursue a teaching career, his knowledge of wine continued to grow. His travels took him to wine regions all over the world. Eventually overwhelmed with a desire to do something with his increasing passion, McClure began studying with the WSET in preparation for a career change.

Tickets for the five-course Visiting Chef Dinner, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the college’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, are $75. Net proceeds from the dinner will be used for annual scholarship awards. To reserve seats, call the Office of Facilities & Events at Penn College at 570-327-4510 or email College Events.

The menu and wines for the Feb. 27 dinner are:

First Course
Applewood-smoked cured trout, smoked-trout mousse, microgreen salad
Trimbach, Pinot Gris, 2011, Alsace, France

Second Course
Roasted guinea fowl, crispy confit, wild-mushroom buckwheat stuffing, wilted arugula
Talbott Vineyards, “Kari Hart” Chardonnay, 2012, Monterey, California

Third Course
Veal consommé, seared diver scallop, vegetable perles, baby peas, fried leeks
Paul Jaboulet Ainé, “Les Cassines,” Condrieu, 2006, Rhone Valley, France

Fourth Course
Bourbon-braised boneless lamb shank, smothered winter greens, sauce marchand de vin
Poggio Bonelli, Tramonto d'Oca, 2007, Toscana Indicazione Geografica Tipica, Italy

Fifth Course
Guittard chocolate cake, black-walnut maple ice cream, crème anglaise
Marchesi Antinori, Vin Santo, 2009, Tuscany, Italy

To learn more about hospitality majors at Penn College, call 570-327-4505.

For more about the college, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.