Oak Pointe Country Club

Brighton, MI

It’s a beautiful breezy fall day, and the smell of smoked pork fills the air at Brighton’s Oak Pointe Country Club. As one of the last formal events of the year, Oak Pointe hosts its annual Bottles & Birdies day of golf, in which members get to play a round while sampling wine at every tee box. But not only is there wine – there’s also delicious food! The smell that’s in the air is coming from a smoker located just off the cart path in the middle of the first hole of the Honors Course. Their Executive Chef Jake Hundley tends to a whole pig being smoked for the event. He checks temperatures and makes sure the smoker is good and fed with enough pecan wood to last a couple more hours.

The pork will be used for nachos and sliders, just a couple of the small bites which also include plenty of cheese & charcuterie, crab cake sliders, grilled oysters, and braised short ribs. Hundley, a Flint native, has been at the club since January and has high hopes to focus more on smaller programmed events like this in the future. This is especially important with winter on the horizon when the club stays open but golf takes a back seat. Much of the food and beverage program is occupied throughout the warmer months with weddings, banquets, and charity events. Even with busy holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day, when patrons expect certain dishes, it can be tough to be innovative. The hope is to engage people with more exclusive events like wine dinners and the like, where Chef can show off a little more creativity.