Featured
Mint & More
Springtime in Kentucky comes in many shades of green. One of our favorites is mint!
Gone Fishing
We've been buying wild-caught Kentucky catfish from Heath Frailey for several years. We finally got down to Western Kentucky to see his operation firsthand and learn how "the best catfish in the country" gets from Kentucky Lake to your dinner plate.
Digging Up Dinner
The humble sunchoke is a lowly tuber, at its best after a few heavy frosts. it waits patiently underground until you're ready to harvest on a hungry day, then rewards the wait with its subtle flavor and virtuous qualities.
Chef Abra Berens
Our beautiful friendship with Chef Abra Berens began with her first trip to Lexington back in 2017 for FoodChain’s inaugural FEAST fundraiser. Learn why we named her class at our Holly Hill Cooking studio “Beautiful Food for Body & Soul”
Recollecting 2023
Oh the lessons we’ve learned, the things we’ve done, and the places we’re headed! Chef Ouita looks back on 2023 and shares her hopes and dreams for 2024.
Hidden Blessings
We went looking for one thing and found another. And were reminded of how often blessings are hiding in plain sight. And how the land, and hands of others, continue to nourish us even as we brace for winter's chill.
Harvest of Riches
Food has the power to bring us together. It works its magic in all kinds of ways and through all kinds of people. Kentucky's story belongs to all of us and we're glad you're here for the telling.
A Respectable (and Tasty!) Bird
Benjamin Franklin called the American turkey a respectable bird, a bird of courage. We ventured out to Elmwood Stock Farm in nearby Scott County, Ky., to talk turkey with Mac Stone who raises heritage Narragansetts on a sixth-generation organic family farm.
Nose to Tail
There’s a new presence on the front lawn at the Holly Hill Inn, gifted from the adjacent venerable walnut tree, one of many on the grounds still standing tall despite a trunk-splitting lightning strike some years ago.
Goetta Taste of Covington
Covington and the towns in Cincinnati’s southern shadow have a flavor all their own. The vibrant communities known collectively as Northern Kentucky are like nowhere else in the state. Generations of German and Italian immigrants have been joined by newcomers who bring foods like arepas, mochi and mochiko chicken to the table. It’s a delicious smorgasbord of flavor.
Corn Makes (Bourbon) Whiskey
Before there's whiskey, there's corn. We all know that rain makes corn but how does corn get from the field to the still? Nat Henton, one of our former Holly Hill chefs, now grows corn for bourbon on his family farm.
Ten Years of Smithtown
Learn what makes Smithtown Seafood so special as we celebrate ten years of great food, good neighbors, rewarding partnerships — and you!
Plotting a New Path
Just north of Lexington is a new kind of farm, and a new kind of Kentucky farming. Brandon and Hanna Barnett and Brandon's sister Ally Vallandingham of Stepping Stone Farm are building on the legacy of eight generations.
The Sum of Its Parts
When a dish only has a few ingredients, you want them to be the best you can find. Especially when you’re not doing much to them in the process of making it. Our Greased Pig Salad is the perfect example of a dish that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Because each of those parts is so darn good.
Watermelon Wisdom
We took a trip out to the melon patch at Happy Jack’s Farm. David Jones showed us the lay of the land and shared his watermelon wisdom, including advice on picking out a winner.
Growing Home
We spent an afternoon trailing Valerie Ison Horn around her Eastern Kentucky community. Learn how Valerie's advocacy for her neighbors led to a 2023 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award.
Little District, Big Job
How did tiny Frankfort (Ky.) Independent Schools manage to serve over 45,000 meals in six weeks? Learn what happens when a farmers market and a school district join forces to feed a community.
The Seer of Frogtown
Jim Embry has made sustainability his lifework and was recognized for it with a 2023 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award. We took a drive out to Jim’s Madison County farm to learn about his vision for the earth.
Stalks & Vines
Our beanstalks aren’t quite as tall as Jack’s yet but they’re getting close! Learn why heirloom beans reach for the sky and other gardening lore from our DirtWorks gardener and seed saver Ian Feeback.
Hewing to Heritage
Tobacco sticks once transported burley leaves from field to barn and barn to market. A few of them now support shelves sawn from salvaged wood, and frame delicate watercolors on the walls of our Holly Hill Cooking Studio.
Roger Solt - the hidden figure of Holly Hill Inn
He’s been a man of mystery for many years. Meet Chris and Ouita’s business partner and Ouita’s long ago college debate coach.