SHAWNEE ON DELAWARE, Pa. — Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort near Marshalls Creek is known for a lot of things, and its annual Thanksgiving Buffet is definitely one of them.
Chef Dean Gardner says he's getting ready to start prepping for this year's feast.
"Well, we've done this more than once and it's all pretty easy. We generally start this week with purchasing products and inventory and then production starts on Monday. Then it's three full days of production and we pull the trigger on Thursday," said Chef Dean Gardner, Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort.
Last year, the resort had to adapt to pandemic changes. Only take-out dinners were offered because of restrictions.
Even though the buffet is back, there are still some changes that had to be made in order to accommodate people safely including the number of available dinners.
"We scaled back a little this year because we do want to take some extra precautions and make sure there's room between tables. We want to facilitate a safe environment for our guests so we did close it out at 450," said Jeromy Wo, Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort.
All the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, plus soups, salads, and more are on the menu.
Chef Dean says it's an all-hands-on-deck operation, but they are glad to be back in full swing this year.
"It's a pleasant, refreshing change to back to normal so we are all looking forward to it," said Gardner.
"We are hospitality workers here first. When we can't accommodate our guests and make people happy, it takes the gem out of our donuts. It's great to know we are going to have an opportunity to exceed guests' expectations this year," said Wo.
Now normally this is the part when we say there are still tickets available for the Thanksgiving buffet, but each one sold out back in October and there's a waiting list.
However, if you want to spend your weekend here in the Poconos there are still rooms available.