It’s the best main course on the golf course.
VIP attendees of this year’s Ryder Cup are shelling out big bucks to get a taste of Long Island they won’t soon forget.
Steps behind Bethpage Black’s famed 18th green, the golf course converted its iconic clubhouse and conjoined the Heritage Club event space to exclusively accommodate high-profile guests, including President Trump, and their extensive palates.
“We’ve been working on it for the past four years,” said Billy Lodato, director of catering operations at Lessings, which handles Bethpage’s hospitality.
“We’re feeding all together about 1,200 to 1,300 a day.”
Celebs and other big names — like Eli Manning, Michael Strahan and Michael Jordan — are eating it up, especially when it comes to meat, confirmed corporate chef Eddie Michaels.
“They all attack the carving station. Whatever it is, lamb, turkey, flank steak, they go right after that,” he told The Post.
“With chicken, we’ve gone through several thousand pounds. For Sunday, we’ve already had to order another 500 pounds.”
There’s also a “daily carving station where we alternate beefs,” said Lodato.
“One day, we did a tomahawk steak area, then a wagyu strip loin…You name it, we have it in that space.”
High-rollers among the cup’s 55,000-plus in daily attendance are also chowing down on fresh seafood with high-end live sushi and raw bars, featuring lobster towers, crab claws, local oysters and bluefin tuna.
It’s a labor of love for the all-star team of 30-strong cooks pulled from all over the world — many of whom are also golf fans and get to witness some of the action, said Michaels.
“When something big happens on hole one or 18, we can hear it in the kitchen,” he said. “It’s actually a lot of fun to hear that roar.”
Lessings, known for knocking out weddings and big events on LI, recruited the best, including from its Florida locations, to handle the intense demand — which involves starting at 3:30 a.m. to have breakfast ready for earlybirds ahead of the 7 a.m. tee off.
Some V-VIPs are even putting down a fore-tune — as much as $40,000 for the weekend — for what Lodato called “an ultra, ultra premium experience” inside the classic building’s newly-created Metropolitan Lounge.
“Tickets for that are close to $40,000 for the weekend… that’s all access — the best of the best,” he said.
And while Team America’s performance has been sobering so far, drinks have been flowing among the golf world’s VIPs.
Clase Azul tequila has been a hit, along with the over 50 kegs of different beers, and “super premium exclusive” wines from across the world, including French Bordeauxs and Italian Barolos, said Lodato.
The buffet zones also appeal to European visitors, offering dishes like blood sausage and corned beef and hash — but nothing beats a taste of the Big Apple.
“We’re showing Europeans a bit of what New York’s all about,” Lodato said.
“Our sandwich board has Lower East Side-style pastrami and some Bronx-Italian-style sandwiches,” he added.
“Good food is good food.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
