Lexington, KY - In the early 1990s, world-renowned restaurant owner Ouita Michel was a chef at Lexington mainstay Dudley's Restaurant.
Dudley's owner Debby Long might not have been as vocal as Berkeley, Calif., resident Alice Waters in her mandate for locally sourced and organic restaurant products, but central Kentucky had a strong, loyal group of farm-to-table devotees, and according to Michel, Dudley's was one of the first restaurants to form relationships with local growers in acquiring produce, meat and herbs for daily customer consumption.
"When I returned from New York and began working at Dudley's, people were just beginning to buy local products in restaurants," said Michel. "Kentucky is fourth in the nation in family farms. We are surrounded by bounty, and yet we sort of stopped seeing it. In European cooking tradition, there isn't any other way to cook. We lost that for a while in this country, but now we're having a rebirth."
In 2011, it's hardly offensive to ask your server which local farm the chicken in your sandwich is from. The universal Kentucky Proud symbol rivals that of the wildcat paw in familiarity throughout the Commonwealth.
Michel's three restaurants, Holly Hill Inn, Wallace Station Deli and Bakery and Windy Corner Market and Restaurant, specialize in utilizing local products.
"Using local products was a part of the business plan and the mission from the outset," Michel said. "And it's easy in Midway. We're surrounded by farms."
Michel started Holly Hill Inn in 2001, but she's experienced a blooming of interest in locally sourced meat, dairy and produce over the past five years. "Customers have come 360 degrees. You can feel it start to bubble," she said. "I don't know if it's that I've found my own market or that the movement has just grown and finally gotten out here. I think that it's just a general increase in awareness, and I love to see it!"
Buying local gives economic strength to the community, employing people, but also providing a sense of food safety and security.
"As money gets scarcer, it's important for people to know that what they do spend is going back to people in your economy," said Michel. "As a business person, I'm going to spend a certain amount of money on food. And I want that money to go to people who live in my community. Local businesses understand and recognize that supporting local business supports themselves."
Buying local also brings Kentuckians back to the farming culture that has defined the commonwealth for centuries. "Our music, our art and culture comes from that past," said Michel, a Lexington native. "If we lose our agrarian tradition, we lose our sense of self."
But eating local is far from an ancient custom. "Even though it was our history, it is our future," said Michel. "There are nutritional issues, but also energy and sustainability issues. Eating local will help us acquire energy independence."
Organic farmer Ann Bell Stone of Elmwood Stock Farm in Scott County has had business relationships with many local restaurants, beginning direct sales 16 years ago.
"More and more restaurants are sourcing locally produced products, and it's great that they are being rewarded for paying attention to what customers want," she said. "We're creating a movement. Folks that move here from other states are pleasantly surprised at the strides that Kentucky has made."
As Dudley's paved the way for local restaurants, Elmwood paved the way for smaller farmers with diverse products to establish relationships with central Kentucky eateries.
"There is a lot of diversification in Kentucky," explained Stone. "Matching up smaller farmers and other products with the customer base is a big challenge. Restaurants offer a predictable sale that we love, while also exposing customers to the product."
Notwithstanding all of the outside arguments to eat local, in the end, the food has to be good. "And local food is great," said Michel. "The ingredients just taste fresher."
"When you go to a restaurant, you want the freshest, best-tasting food available for you and your family," added Stone. "Our local farms provide that."
The sourcing local trend continues with the opening of establishments touting Kentucky Proud products and farm produce like The Homestead restaurant and cafĂ in Winchester and healthy teaching kitchen the Wholesome Chef in downtown Lexington.
"I've chosen to integrate social and environmental issues into my culinary curriculum because it is one avenue in which to educate the public and empower them to integrate local and organic foods into their daily eating at home," said the Wholesome Chef owner and personal chef Carolyn Gilles. "Eating local food builds a connection to place and to the land, cuts down on transportation costs and nutritionally, it's the best thing that you can feed your body."
While Kentucky has made great advancements, there are still quite a few barriers to overcome. "Some customers don't understand why one chicken sandwich or burger is more expensive over another," said Stone. "Educating customers is still a challenge. Patrons have to remember that not all chicken is chicken."
It might be a little more expensive to buy pulled pork sandwich at Windy Corner, but Michel hands local farmer Patrick Kennedy of Stone Cross Farm a weekly check for his central Kentucky pork.
"Less is more, and trying to teach our clientele this is a challenge sometimes," said Michel. "Customers may not understand why an 8-ounce burger costs less than a 5-ounce."
There's also the issue of seasonality, which directly opposes typical American eating habits. "With a restaurant that uses local products, you may have a favorite menu item that you might not always be able to have," said Stone. "The menu is going to change with the seasons, and customers have to become aware of that."
Culinary sacrifices might include strawberry shortcake in December, asparagus risotto in January or apple pie in March.
Michel's restaurants have purchased about a million dollars in Kentucky Proud products in their 10 years of business, as of the end of 2010. "What if 100 restaurants did what we did?" she asked.
According to Stone, if the farm sold its products to all of the houses Stone passes on the way to the farmer's market each week, she wouldn't have to go to market at all.
I guess the figurative tomato is now our reusable grocery bag, Lexington.