Coffee break: Tom McGinty

Tom McGinty Executive chef, Milwaukee Athletic Club 758 N. Broadway themacwi.com Industry: Hospitality 

• As the Milwaukee Athletic Club’s new executive chef, Tom McGinty is charged with developing a culinary program that blends modern trends with nostalgic tradition. He was hired in July, during a $62 million renovation of the MAC’s historic 105-year-old building.  
• McGinty began his culinary career in the 1990s working at private clubs in Florida. He was always drawn to the variety of the menu. “We did breakfast, we did lunch, we did fine dining, we did casual. We did banquets, we did small events, and everything in between. It really piqued my interest.” 
• An opportunity to oversee food and beverage operations at Destination Kohler ultimately brought McGinty to Wisconsin, but leadership duties pushed him further away from what he loved most about his trade. He left Destination Kohler after five years.
• When chief operating officer Joe Kurth approached him about joining the MAC, McGinty decided he would only take a job there if it was head chef, not director of food and beverage. “My love for food and the full circle that my career has taken has gotten me back to a spot that has all the things that I like about this industry.”
• In McGinty’s view, menu development is all about understanding the customer and dropping the ego – serving diners what they want, but in a way that’s new or unique. “I’m not against playing the greatest hits. … I’ll play the greatest hits, and then let me show you some new stuff based on things that I’ve learned over a career of seeing things. I’m a very curious learner.”
• McGinty drinks espresso, either black or as cappuccino, from the MAC’s new automatic espresso machines.