Jon Rahm to serve up Spanish flavor at Masters Club dinner for champions

Masters champion Jon Rahm is bringing plenty of Spanish flavor to the Masters Club dinner for champions next month, even before they find their seat at the table.

The cocktail reception will have gernika peppers, grown in a town in the Basque region of Spain when Rahm grew up. There also will be gildas, which he described as an anchovy skewer with peppers and olives.

“A lot of things are not people’s favorites, but it’s something that’s very common in the Basque country,” Rahm said Tuesday during a conference call for the Masters.

Among the appetizers is lentil stew — “Lentejas Estofadas” is how it is listed on the official menu — which came from his grandmother’s recipe.

By the sound of it, Rahm poured as much effort into the menu as he did for the Masters, where last year he outdueled Brooks Koepka on the final day to win by four. He became the fourth Masters champion from Spain, joining Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.

The Masters Club, also know as the Champions Dinner, dates to 1952 when Ben Hogan organized a dinner for past champions. The dinner is only for Masters champions, with the club chairman (Fred Ridley) invited as an honorary member.

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It’s not unusual for international dinners to bring a flavor from home — Angel Cabrera of Argentina served blood sausage, while Adam Scott served Moreton Bay bugs (lobster) — but Rahm is taking it to another level.

“I wanted to put a little bit of my heritage and my family into this dinner, which is going to make it even more special,” Rahm said. “It should be quite special. And they’re going to try a few things that they maybe haven’t seen before that are really quite tasty.”

The appetizers include acorn-fed Iberian ham and cured pork loin, known as “Ibericos.” There’s also a Spanish omelet with potatoes and “Croquet de Pollo,” which he described as creamy chicken fritters with potatoes. There’s also “Chistorra con Patata,” a spicy chorizo.

And then it’s time for the main course — Chuleton and Rodaballo al Pil-Pil.

Chuleton is a Basque ribeye that is seared and served already cut, with a hot plate that allows guests to cook it to the temperature of their choosing.

“Most people in northern Spain go about as much as medium rare,” Rahm said. “If you go past that, you’re going to get a weird look just because that’s how we are.”

The latter is a Turbot, a white fish popular in his region, served with asparagus.

And if there’s room left for dessert, Rahm is serving “Milhojas de Crema y Nata,” a puff pastry cake with custard and cream that Rahm served at his wedding.

It isn’t always this complicated. The first time Tiger Woods hosted the Masters Club dinner in 1998, he served cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries and milkshakes.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf