Highly regarded New Orleans transplant

at home at Musgrove

LONA WILLIAMS

Daily Mountain Eagle

Published June 10, 2007 1:41 AM CDT

He worked with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, of television fame, at the renowned Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. He’s a former Chef of the Year and Restaurateur of the Year in the Crescent City. Now, Phil Schirle has brought his talents to Jasper’s Musgrove Country Club. Schirle, 47, who has 20 years experience in restaurant management, has been named executive chef/food and beverage manager at Musgrove after a consultant recommended the need for the position to the club’s board of directors.

The road to Jasper began after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 while Schirle (pronounced SHIR-ley) was serving as executive chef at New Orleans Country Club, which has 1,500 members and has been voted one of the top 100 private clubs in the nation. Following the storm, he eventally moved here, where his wife has family members, and commuted to Inverness Country Club in Birmingham for six months before joining Musgrove on May 15..

When Schirle first returned to New Orleans Country Club three weeks after Katrina, there was still no electricity and wouldn’t be for two months. Schirle and others picked their way through the clubhouse that had stood two feet deep in water. He was there to retrieve his computer, cookbooks, knives and files. Other employees and members looked for their golf clubs and personal items stored there.

Schirle had worked at the prestigious club for nine years and felt an obligation, he said, to see how he could help. But only a dozen or so of the 150 employees chose to return to their jobs.

The lower floor of the two-story building was already being gutted by a damage remediation company. It was decided that all the club’s employees on hand, including the award-winning chef, would try to save the golf course even though the superintendent had taken one look and quit.

“Trees were down, greens were standing in water and the grass was dying,” said Schirle. “I worked with the assistant golf course superintendent running the wood chipper, aerating greens, mowing and using a chain saw.”

At the same time Schirle was also working on his house in Covington, damaged by wind and three fallen trees during Katrina.

“I learned a lot during that experience,” he said.

Life after Katrina

Schirle stayed in New Orleans until the post-Katrina revitalization of the country club was complet. He then gave his notice, and the family prepared to move to Jasper.

“It was my wife’s sister who circled the wagons,” said Schirle. “She and her husband, Dr. Johnathan Barnette, a local dentist, began encouraging all the family members to move inland. We were the last to come. We moved in October.”

Schirle and his wife, Lisa, have a 6-year-old daughter, Olivia, a rising first-grader at Jasper’s Memorial Park Elementary School. Schirle said it’s important to him and his wife that their daughter be raised around family. He said this will be their permanent home since he is “sick of moving.”

He said he is delighted to be working at Musgrove and won’t miss the commute to Inverness. He doesn’t find Musgrove’s smaller kitchen and staff of 10 (rather than 30) unacceptable.

He said he’s very pleased with the reception and has been serving “phenomenal numbers” at the club in the last two weeks.

“Every chef wants a bigger cooler and a bigger kitchen,” Schirle said. “I say everything in due time.”

Musgrove’s president, Dr. Gene Birdsong, told Schirle that this market prefers meat and potatoes as the primary menu. That’s fine with Schirle.

Cajun and Creole, too

He also acknowledges that he has learned a great deal about Cajun and Creole culinary styles and is comfortable with a blend of the two styles.

“Cajun is the country style menus,” he said. “That would be the gumbo, etouffee and alligator stew. Creole is the city style of cooking. It incorporates more butter sauces, veal and pasta dishes. I blend them both a little.”

Schirle is currently working on finding a seafood source for the club. He recently had some fresh seafood flown in.

“With global shipping, I can get anything I want,” he said. “But I’m not going to stray too far off the beaten path. I don’t want to use our members as guinea pigs to try things out and see how they like it. We’ve got to be what the members expect, then we’ll tweak it a little.”

Schirle is suggesting wine pairings with the specials on the menu. He said he is working with a couple of members to select wines that are “drinkable.”

“We’re upgrading our wine list but we want selections that will be enjoyed,” he said. “They are not to sit on the shelf and collect dust.”

Schirle said, “Musgrove is a southern club in a small town. We’e not trying to make it a Birmingham country club.”

Birdsong said club members’ response to the new chef has been totally positive. He can see that Chef Phil will be a motivation for members to dine at Musgrove more often, bringing guests and potential new members.

“This club could be like a Shoal Creek but with a homey atmosphere,” Birdsong said.