May 5, 2021
I was overjoyed that Chef Ouita Michel, one of the very first guests on the podcast, agreed to have me over to Holly Hill Inn to talk about her new cookbook, Just A Few Miles South, which has just been released from the University Press of Kentucky. It’s a beautiful book, and you’ll want to pick up a copy. You can get a signed copy directly from Chef Ouita at her website. Just check show notes for a link.
Chef Ouita and I also discuss what she’s learned from the lockdowns, the challenges of finding staff for her restaurants, and some changes she thinks will stick even after all the restrictions are over. Plus, Chef Ouita reveals what her next book will be.
Order Just a Few Miles South from ouitamichel.com
Chef Ouita Michel website | Instagram | Twitter
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![EK 23 - The Derby That Should Have Been - Chef David Danielson of Churchill Downs]()
September 2, 2020
It’s Kentucky Derby Week, so it must be September! As crazy as that sounds, that’s the reality we have in 2020—a Kentucky Derby on Labor Day weekend with no spectators.
But that’s not what we expected at the beginning of the year. We all thought there would be a Kentucky Derby in May like there was supposed to be. With that in mind, I scheduled an interview with Churchill Downs Executive Chef David Danielson early in the year knowing as May approached he would be far too busy.
This was an interview you were supposed to hear in April.
I met Chef Danielson at the Old Stone Inn & Tavern, a two hundred year old structure in Simpsonville in Shelby County that he began running in 2018. With no consciousness of Covid-19 or the pandemic world that was ahead of us, Chef Danielson and I discussed the Old Stone Inn, his background of training in France and working at the Ritz, and how he eventually came to Churchill Downs. We also discussed his upcoming work at the Tokyo Olympics.
This interview is a look back into an alternate universe 2020. The way 2020 was supposed to be. Of course, there was no Derby in May. There were no Tokyo Olympic games this summer. And sadly, the Old Stone Inn & Tavern has now closed. In 2020 it’s impossible to escape everything we’ve lost.
Chef David Danielson Twitter | Instagram
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![EK 22 - Which Fork Do I Use With My Bourbon? - Peggy Noe Stevens]()
August 18, 2020
It’s August, so that means it must be time to think about the Kentucky Derby! Only in 2020 could that statement make any kind of sense.
But it’s likely you won’t be going to the Derby, because very few can this year. It’s the perfect time to have a Derby party at home. Today’s guest has written the book on Derby parties. Peggy Noe Stevens’ has co-written a new book with Susan Reigler called ‘Which Fork Do I use With My Bourbon?’ and there is an entire chapter on Derby Parties.
Peggy Noe Stevens is a bourbon tourism pioneer who helped come up with the very idea for the wildly popular Kentucky Bourbon Trail and implement it. She has also been an advocate for women in bourbon and is founder of the group Bourbon Women. In fact, the virtual 2020 Bourbon Women SIP Summer Series begins this week on August 20. You can register for free at EventBrite.
Peggy and I discuss her new book, the impact of the pandemic on the bourbon industry, what she thinks the future holds for Kentucky bourbon tourism, and she gives us a few tips for our own Derby parties. Plus, Peggy shares the story of welcoming the legendary Julia Child to Kentucky and teaching her about Kentucky’s native spirit as well as how she introduced celebrity chef Bobby Flay to bourbon. Also, Peggy discusses the strides women have made in bourbon and the next doors that need to be opened.
Which Fork Do I Use With My Bourbon?
Peggy Noe Stevens Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Bourbon Women
Sip Summer Series Registration
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August 11, 2020
Alex Francke is a former Miss Teen Kentucky and also a graduate of the University of Kentucky who is in the unique position of being the only two term Miss Kentucky.
She talks about her unique role as a spokesperson for Kentucky agriculture and Kentucky proud, her travels overseas including the foods she loved, as well as the challenges of her own diet restrictions. Alex also shares her favorite Lexington restaurants. Plus, Alex discusses her plans for when she sets the Miss Kentucky crown aside.
I want to extend a special thank you to Caroline Paulus and Justins House of Bourbon for allowing me to use their space in downtown Lexington to record this episode.
Miss Kentucky Official Site | Instagram | Facebook
Alex Francke Instagram | YouTube
Adopt An Art Official Site | Instagram
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![EK 20 - A Summer of Unrest - Adrian Miller Returns]()
August 6, 2020
Eat Kentucky welcomes back Adrian Miller, James Beard Award winning author of Soul Food. If you haven’t listened to EK Episode 17 where Adrian and I talk about Chef Dolly Johnson, an African-American White House chef from Lexington, I would encourage you to do so. There we also explore Adrian’s background and discuss his books.
I asked Adrian to come back on the podcast to discuss his article about Louisville barbecue pit master and restaurateur David McAtee, who was killed during this summer’s Louisville protests. We discuss his legacy and the McAtee Community Kitchen from the Lee Initiative that he inspired.
Also, one of the recent brand reassessments from this summer has led to the retiring of the Aunt Jemima brand. That, too, has a Kentucky connection, as the first person to assume the Aunt Jemima role was Nancy Green from Montgomery County, Kentucky.
Adrian offers his insight and expertise in recognizing both of these Kentucky culinary figures.
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Adrian Miller Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
'David McAtee Represented the Best of African-American Barbecue Culture'
'A Louisville Community Kitchen Aims to Heal a Divide. Its Best Known Chef and a Rising Star Are Behind It.'
The Lee Initiative: McAtee Community Kitchen
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July 8, 2020
We are celebrating National Ice Cream month in July. I was able to travel to Versailles to speak with Beth Richardson of Spotz Gelato. Spotz started as a food truck, but blossomed into brick and mortar locations now in three Central Kentucky towns plus a semi-permanent food truck location in Lexington.
Beth and I discuss the early beginnings of Spotz, how a group of singers helped her get her flavors just right, why small historic Kentucky towns are the right fit for Spotz, the Central American Spotz location you’ll want to visit, plus just what is the difference between ice cream and gelato, anyway?
Spotz Website | Instagram | Facebook
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![EK 18 - The Indiana Jones of Southern Food - Prof. David Shields]()
May 20, 2020
Professor David Shields is the Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina. He is also a lost food discoverer and preservationist—a Southern food archaeologist.
Dr. Shields is the author of numerous books, including Southern Provisions: The Creation and Revival of a Cuisine, and The Culinarians: Lives and Careers From the First Age of Fine Dining. Next year his book Taste the State will be published by the University of South Carolina Press.
David is Chairman of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, which has helped restore many of the key ingredients of the cuisine of the Carolina Low Country and the South as a whole. He has been awarded the Keeper of the Flame Award from the Southern Foodways Alliance and was a finalist for a James Beard Award.
David and I talk about his childhood in Japan, a surprising connection to the CIA, and his reaction to tasting frosted flakes for the first time.
Plus, we take a deep dive on lost and rediscovered ingredients with a Kentucky connection including the legendary Dyehouse cherry, lost for generations but rediscovered on a farm near Somerset with a little bit of help from Eat Kentucky.
David Shields Facebook
TEDx Talk: Bringing Good Taste Back Into Southern Kitchens, by David Shields
Search for the elusive Dyehouse cherry comes 'home' to the Bluegrass State, by Alan Cornett
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![EK 17 - Hello, Chef Dolly! - Adrian Miller, The Soul Food Scholar]()
May 6, 2020
Adrian Miller, the Soul Food Scholar, is a Denver, Colorado based James Beard Award winning author and food historian as well as a certified barbecue judge and former White House advisor to President Bill Clinton.
In this episode Adrian and I talk about Lexington, Kentucky chef Dolly Johnson, an African-American White House chef for two presidents and who was discovered by a young Theodore Roosevelt. Much about Dolly remains cloaked in mystery, but she was in high demand in the highest halls of power. But she left all of that to return to her home in Kentucky.
Adrian writes about her in his book The President’s Kitchen Cabinet. He and I discuss White House chefs as well as the idea of Soul Food, the subject of his James Beard award winning book.
Plus, Adrian and I discuss barbecue and his time in Bill Clinton’s White House.
Adrian Miller Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
'African American Cooks In the White House: Hiding In Plain Sight', by Adrian Miller
Adrian Miller on Somewhere South with Vivian Howard video clip
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April 28, 2020
Marianne Eaves made bourbon history when she left Brown Forman and was named master distiller of Castle & Key Distillery in 2015, making her the first female master distiller in Kentucky since Prohibition. A year ago Eaves shocked the bourbon industry when she resigned from the Woodford Country distillery to pursue other opportunities.
In this episode I catch up with Marianne Eaves and find out what has happened over the past year. The answer includes a circus, Broadway, and a new baby. Plus, Marianne and I discuss her visits to distilleries around the country, a deep dive on small barrels, and what bottle Marianne would pick from the store shelves.
Marianne Eaves Website | Instagram | Facebook
Broadway TED Talk
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