Kentucky: traditional dishes get a contemporary twist from local ingredients in the Bluegrass State

Nation's Restaurant News,  Feb 19, 2007  by Lisa Jennings

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When asked to define what makes Kentucky cuisine unique, chefs throughout the state have to stop and think. There s no easy answer, they say, because, here, the winds of influence come from all directions. Kentucky is, after all, the northern part of the South, the southern part of the North, the western part of the East and the eastern part of the Midwest.

The Bluegrass State, however, has come into its own as a leader in the production of locally produced artisanal ingredients--from Bibb lettuce to bourbon. At one point, farmers in the largely rural state relied mainly on tobacco as their primary crop, but now they are finding other sources of income, including aquaculture, cheese making, hydroponic microgreens and wild-mushroom farming.

As a result, Kentucky chefs are carving out a niche with modern variations--of the region's traditional favorites, using high-quality, homegrown ingredients.

From the country fare of the Appalachian Mountains in the east, to the mutton barbecue and country hams of the west, Kentucky is known for such dishes as a meat-filled stew called burgoo, an open-faced hot turkey sandwich smothered in Mornay sauce called a hot brown, and a richly sweet version of pecan pie with a layer of chocolate often served during the state's horseracing season in the spring.

However, chefs like Kathy Cary, chef-owner of the 20-year-old restaurant Lilly's Bistro in Louisville, continue to draw national attention for their contemporary fusion of Kentucky's old and new traditions. Cary's "Kentucky Tapas" menu, for example, includes such dishes as rabbit croquettes with a bourbon-laced mustard-cream sauce, fried oysters with a root vegetable-ginger slaw, and fried frog's legs with Spanish egg-and-potato omelets with red pepper romesco sauce.

Instead of offering the expected fried catfish, Cary uses catfish in spring rolls with an Asian dipping sauce. Mediterranean-style lamb shanks are served over creamy grits, and, for her version of "pain perdu," Cary places sea bass over a cornbread-and-goat-cheese bread pudding with beurre blanc.

The goat cheese for the latter dish is sourced from Capriole, a goat farm in a Louisville suburb just over the state line in Indiana. Capriole cheeses are available in specialty stores nationally, and Cary predicts other local producers will soon be discovered by chefs elsewhere.

Several Kentucky farmers now raise bison, which is a hot menu item in restaurants across the state. Cary serves bison burgers with a locally made watermelon pickle.

"What's interesting is that it's so accepted," Cary says. "The public's knowledge of such ingredients has changed, thanks to the farmers markets and stores like Whole Foods moving in."

A program by the state agriculture department also has helped. Over the past few years, Kentucky has received millions of dollars as part of a settlement with cigarette companies to compensate for the sharp drop in demand for tobacco. In 2000, state lawmakers directed about half of the settlement proceeds to an agricultural development fund that is attempting to rebuild the state's farming infrastructure.

Government-supported local fare

The Kentucky Proud program, as it is called, includes a rebate system for restaurants that buy locally produced agricultural products and advertise it on their menus--which, state officials note, fits well with a national trend of using local purveyors.

For every dollar spent on locally produced lettuce through the program, restaurant operators will receive about a 20-percent rebate, with checks arriving every quarter. About 35 restaurants currently participate.

"This is real money coming back," says Dean Corbett, chef-owner of the Louisville fine-dining restaurant Equus and the adjoining lounge, Jack's.

Corbett says he would be buying local even without the rebate.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, it's just a better product," he says.

Corbett started highlighting local ingredients on his menu long before the more recent rebate program. At Equus, which his father opened in 1985, one of the longtime favorites on the menu is a pepper-crusted filet mignon from Louisville-based Creekstone Farms, an Angus beef producer, topped with a blue cheese from Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese, based in Austin, Ky.

Kentucky, traditions: from the hot brown sandwich to ostrich

At the more casual Jack's, one of Corbett's best-sellers is a version of the traditional hot brown sandwich using Gouda from Kenny's Farmhouse, rather than the more traditional Parmesan, and a locally produced smoked bacon.

Corbett plans to open a third restaurant later this year called Corbett's, which he says will offer a fine-dining menu that's "more adventurous" and also based on local products. Offerings might include ostrich and the local bison, he says.

The locally produced meats are one of chef Michael Paley's favorite aspects of Kentucky cuisine. Paley is the executive chef of Proof on Main, a restaurant operated in downtown Louisville in partnership with New York-based Myriad Restaurant Group. The restaurant is in the recently renovated 21c Museum Hotel, owned by Steve Wilson and Laura Lee, who also own a local bison farm.