Hot Water Cornbread: Kentucky Food Radio

Chef Ouita interviews co-host Rona about the fantastic foods of the Bicol region of the Philippines, a distinctive cuisine of pungent, sour, coconut-creamy, rice-y vegetables and seafood, with fantastic seasonal tropical fruits. The foods that grow in the Bicol region make its cuisine extraordinary, just as the foods that grow in Kentucky form Kentucky cuisine. The two co-hosts make plenty of Kentucky-Bicol comparisons as they go.

Katie Ellis directs The Berry Center, which advocates for farmers, land-conserving communities, and healthy regional economies. She also heads a new Kentucky food enterprise, Home Place Meat. We talked with Katie about the first cooperative venture, now underway, to produce rose veal.

Rob and Diane Perez brought superior brand development and restaurant practices to Lexington, following Rob’s work with heavyweight national brands, including Hard Rock Cafe and Disney. Recently they have opened DV8 Kitchen, a social enterprise restaurant aimed at changing the lives of people recovering from substance abuse by offering second chance employment and encouragement. And, by the way, while producing delicious, crowd-pleasing foods. In this compelling episode, Rob tells us about the path to DV8, and what he hopes comes next.

This is a mind expanding session with Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky Extension Professor and Provost's Distinguished Service Professor. Paul is a scientist with expertise in genetic engineering and commitment to sustainable agriculture.

This is a mind expanding session with Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky Extension Professor and Provost's Distinguished Service Professor. Paul is a scientist with expertise in genetic engineering and commitment to sustainable agriculture.

Sam Fore created Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, a popular tent-based pop-up, after friends simply could not get enough of her home-cooked food. She teaches wonderful cooking classes and makes wise presentations about cuisine and foodways. We talk with her just as she is heading into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, with the blessings of food celebrity Padma Lakshmi (just after we recorded our show), and with a big set of big ideas on meshing Sri Lankan and Kentucky cuisine.

Sam Fore created Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, a popular tent-based pop-up, after friends simply could not get enough of her home-cooked food. She teaches wonderful cooking classes and makes wise presentations about cuisine and foodways. We talk with her just as she is heading into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, with the blessings of food celebrity Padma Lakshmi (just after we recorded our show), and with a big set of big ideas on meshing Sri Lankan and Kentucky cuisine.

Brian Luftman founded American Farm Investors after leaving a successful career as a commodities trader in Chicago. American Farm Investors specializes in locating and managing grain-producing farmland for private investors. In part, "grain-producing" means corn grown for Maker's Mark bourbon. Brian is working with Patrick Madden in Lexington, Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville and partners in England to bring a new bourbon to life and help Britons develop a happy bourbon habit. "Never Say Die" bourbon takes its name from an extraordinary Kentucky colt that ran a great race in England and also brought benefits to some young musicians who eventually became the Beatles. Listen and be amazed. Brian also sits on the Board of Directors for the Bluegrass Angels Venture Fund. He is an active angel investor and Chairman of the Board for Gryphon Environmental, a multi-national industrial waste drying company.

Brian Luftman founded American Farm Investors after leaving a successful career as a commodities trader in Chicago. American Farm Investors specializes in locating and managing grain-producing farmland for private investors. In part, "grain-producing" means corn grown for Maker's Mark bourbon. Brian is working with Patrick Madden in Lexington, Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville and partners in England to bring a new bourbon to life and help Britons develop a happy bourbon habit. "Never Say Die" bourbon takes its name from an extraordinary Kentucky colt that ran a great race in England and also brought benefits to some young musicians who eventually became the Beatles. Listen and be amazed. Brian also sits on the Board of Directors for the Bluegrass Angels Venture Fund. He is an active angel investor and Chairman of the Board for Gryphon Environmental, a multi-national industrial waste drying company.

Janet Tietyen Mullins and Doug Mullins have formidable individual food credentials. Janet, a Kentuckian, is a professor in the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at the University of Kentucky, where her work with Cooperative Extension serves Kentucky families and farmers. Doug, from Illinois, serves as the first Chief Operating Officer for the Ouita Michel Family of Restaurants. In two different ways, as they pursue their two different careers in the world of Kentucky food, both Doug’s and Janet’s work supports Kentucky growers and encourages Kentuckians to eat fine, nutritious food from our own land