While the banquet kitchen at Southern California’s Pechanga Resort Casino can please any palate—and at scale, as the Native American-owned and -operated casino resort can handle groups of up to 5,000—its top banquet chef’s slight Georgia drawl just might inspire an authentic Southern twist to menus.
Mathew J. Bishop, banquet executive chef at the sprawling Inland Empire property located between Orange County and Palm Springs, has brought some of the South’s best culinary traditions to a West Coast property that lives and breathes big-time onsite catering.
[More Top Chefs Content: MeetingsToday.com/top-chefs]
Before joining Pechanga, he made his name in one of the most-popular culinary destinations in the U.S.: Charleston, South Carolina. Bishop worked 15 years in that foodie-favorite city, plying his trade for four high-volume locations on King Street as an executive chef for Republic DMG, and before that as executive sous chef at Saltwater Cowboys—one of the highest-volume restaurants in the country—with a culinary team of 60. His last Charleston gig may have been his biggest, with Duvall Catering & Events, the largest private caterer in South Carolina.
“I got my foot in the door with Duvall Catering & Events and worked my way up through that organization, building them up,” Bishop said. “We built a new kitchen. We built a new facility. We became a member of Leading Caterers of America. It was there where I learned how to banquet—how to cater, how to transfer—to move from restaurants to banquets and catering.”
Bishop’s culinary journey began when he discovered his love for cooking during a summer job in college delivering pizzas, where he was quickly promoted to general manager.
“I learned that I love being in the kitchen,” Bishop said. “I love making food. I love being creative. I got to make the pizzas for the buffet; I got to make whatever I wanted, and I had a ball with that. And my next job was cooking breakfast at the little cafe just off campus. I kept working hard, and if I didn’t understand something, I asked questions and kept learning. Little by little, I got to where you see me now.”
Pechanga is all about big numbers. Bishop said the resort’s F&B staff hovers just north of 1,100, with the banquet department totaling about 250.
[Related: Chef David Hollands Melds the Flavors of San Francisco at the Marriott Marquis]
While Bishop orchestrates those 250 for day-to-day operations, he also works closely with the sales team to ensure clients get a top-notch experience. One notable client was the first Indian wedding he supervised.
“An inquiry came in and they asked, ‘How’s your Indian cuisine?’” Bishop remembered. “We said, ‘We’re willing to learn,’ and we embraced it. We found some recipes, found what worked for us and adapted. We went to local grocery stores to source ingredients and we had a ball learning how to pull off an Indian wedding. And when it was all said and done, I was handing out business cards.”
Since then, his team has served multiday Indian weddings for hundreds as well as traditional meeting groups and the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball with back-to-back dinners for thousands—all in the same night.
Group Offerings
Another fun aspect of Bishop’s job is the variety that comes with so many large groups.
“Our menus are very wide-ranging, from Hawaiian to Italian to Chinese to Indian,” he said. “I am from the South, so I started injecting little Southern touches here and there. Southern California never heard of mustard barbecue sauce, but I’ve thrown that into a lot of menus here lately.”
Bishop has a few key pieces of advice for meeting planners holding large banquets.
“Trust them,” he said, referring to a property’s banquet team. “Ask them, ‘What do you do best? What would work best for our group, for our space?’ and see what they have to say. Too many people come in with a preconceived notion of, ‘This is what I want.’ OK, we’ll make it happen, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be much better if you let us do what we do best and what we know how to do.”
[Related: Major Tribal Casino Teams With Vegas Rival to Share Guest Benefits]
Chef Matt’s Charleston Pimento Cheese (serves 20)
From the chef: "This is very versatile! This is great served just with your favorite crackers, or as a component of a cheese, charcuterie and crudité display. Also great for traditional tea sandwiches spread on white bread and cut in little crustless triangles. I also like it melted over burgers or in a grilled-cheese sandwich. If you are going to serve this warm and melty, substitute half to most of the mayonnaise with cream cheese (mix with room temperature cream cheese for best results) for a gooey treat."
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. shredded mild cheddar cheese
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, drained well, small-diced
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeno with juice, small-diced
- 1 quart mayonnaise
- 1 pint sour cream
- 2 tbl. white sugar
- 2 tbl. rice wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
- Add red peppers, jalapeno, mayo, sour cream, sugar and vinegar to large mixing bowl
- Mix until incorporated
- Add cheddar and fold in
- Season gently with salt and pepper
- Taste to ensure seasoning and balance of flavors
- Label, date and store in cooler
