Central Kentucky is home to some amazing restaurants from fine dining to casual bites and farm to table exotic cuisine.

There are options for everyone.

Today.

We'll meet some of the chefs who are being recognized for their outstanding work.

That's now on connections.

♪ ♪ Thank you for joining us for connections today.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Okay.

First up today we meet a Lexington chef who's been nominated for a prestigious award.

>> Despite not having a traditional restaurant instead, chef Samantha for of took took 3 long can bytes has made her way onto the fancied by operating pop-up locations around town.

And she joins us today to discuss her recent nomination for a James Beard Award.

If you don't know how significant it is, we're going to tell you talk about her rise in popularity over the years.

Good to see a cut.

Price am Well, it's it's good to have you here.

And thank you so very much and congratulations.

Thank you.

I'm so excited to be here and to meet you.

And this is just officers from well back at.

Yeah.

So James Beard Award.

>> People who are in the culinary say may not know like how really significant that is.

I mean, this is like the creme de la creme right?

>> Yeah, it's a it's definitely a bit of a it's it's definitely a bit of a shock and a surprise >> I have focused on doing about as humble of a beginning as is humanly You know, I I have been cooking around the country for the last 2 years and I just I guess I didn't realize who I was cooking for.

>> Yeah.

I mean, did you run across people and thought, oh, my gosh, this is who I'm giving my food too.

Yeah.

>> Yeah.

Last year there was a very surreal moment.

I was a last-minute invited to the Aspen Food Wine Classic for Food Line and chef we to Michael was there and we were able to kind of like have our little Kentucky contingent together.

the first night when our party was it was, you know, all these award-winning chefs in small yeas are coming in.

>> this is really good.

So it's you know, you're rubbing elbows with people like Nancy Silverton and Bobby Stuckey is like legendary in the wine world.

All the chefs that you've seen on TV for years and years and years.

And they're like this is a really great additional Mike >> OK, thank Why are you surprised, right?

Just because I mean, they had to start somewhere to Zach.

>> Clay, but there it is.

I think for me is, is that it's very different than that.

I'm I'm representing a cuisine that I grew up with.

And so I think when people when people are looking at the cuisines that they grow up with, they don't think of them in the same sort of vein is fine dining.

But when you look at the French Foods that are, you know, all of these beautiful restaurants, huff, they have humble beginnings as well.

Right?

And so it's really exciting to see people adopting a new beginning from a new region of the world.

Yes.

So tell me about your cuisine.

My cuisine is the love child of Sri Lanka on the South.

Much like me that's a nice Black Friday ads say.

>> People don't think that the cultures of South Asia and, you know, the southern U.S. are very similar, but they in what ways you have a lot of familial connection to your recipes.

If you look at the recipes from in my husband's families from Appalachia, their pass down right?

And they become a big part of the family.

A big part of gathering and whether it's a birth or a death or an event in the family.

Food is always paramount, right?

Right.

And so when people recognize that that's going on with both Appalachian culture and South Asian culture, it keeps them up.

Yeah.

And that's really that's what I thought my job was to provide that bridge.

But I guess I have to cook.

>> So it's a fusion right of the 2.

I give it as me.

I think it is my food.

Because if it's a fusion, it's it's a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

But this.

>> This is all me.

Yes, it's you know, I'm a I'm a Sri Lankan woman who was born in in Kentucky, raised in the South.

And these are the foods that I grew up eating.

But in a way that's presented to what I was eating outside of the home, right?

So from having a fried chicken, I wanted to have all these flavors of the chicken curries that I make with in like everybody.

Yeah.

But it looks like a piece of fried chicken.

So someone's going to try it.

I'm a big believer.

the presentation is southern.

>> Yeah, happens in this labor.

It sure looks actually.

It's a pleasant surprise.

Yeah.

You're talking into shrimp and grits.

You're expecting cream and butter.

But then you get this beautiful.

Have coconut milk.

That's just like a weight.

>> This is sweet and rich and beacon that's that are cut.

>> vegan grips.

Yeah, it's wow.

I make the congrats that are not terribly.

I would never put that into an accident together when it got to the southern cuisine.

That's for sure.

Well, tell me about your parents.

And and when they came here and how little they had when they arrived.

So my parents they came here in 1972.

>> And my father came in on one of the visas for medical professionals.

And so he was sent to Cincinnati, Ohio and did a residency in pulmonology and them, I guess in Kentucky they need a lot of good lung doctors say adding down here.

my parents came to this country with 50 bucks in their hands and made a life for all of their kids and still, you know, still are very supportive of my career.

Yeah, it's fantastic because I moved them up here about a year ago.

My parents were in Lexington.

We're all in like until until about and them as they age.

And as I've come back, I came back 10 years ago.

And I just like, you know, I don't want to leave.

I like it here.

It's we're glad for It's a good life here, honestly, because I've I've lived in the big cities.

I get to travel the world and I get to come home for the bluegrass and there's nothing better after like weeks of travel because I spent, you know, 70 to 60% the year respectively.

Last year's on the road.

The Landing at Blue Grass Airport is just a treat.

Yeah, because you get to land and see all the pastures and everything that makes central Kentucky Central Kentucky and it just reminds you that you're home and areas is on the way home from Yahoo.

Grab a burrito.

we don't lack for fine dining of any flavor are often surprised.

Yeah.

Because like will have folks come to visit for shoots and stuff and like what?

What?

Where are we going to eat them like?

>> You have to pick, right?

We have so many line means ING options here.

But you don't have a shopper say I know you did for 7 years.

>> So so tell me, I mean, how how does your business model work?

What do you just traveling and doing a pop-up sense.

But that's going to change right?

No, no, no, I I'm still booked out until the end of the year.

>> Wow.

I have a very interesting challenge on my hands and staffing.

Yeah, because I have to have, you know, and this is the thing.

A lot of the restaurants will go and say we have the chef.

We have the shot.

This is great.

But ultimately the strength of a restaurant is built on its Am I need those good people to help me carry this?

Because ultimately I still need to be an ambassador of these flavors.

There's still so new.

So I I don't want to lose that moment, right?

So as I said, you know, you do these pop ups and you go to people's homes known a restaurant.

I stopped doing rentals homes 3 years Appointment.

if I know you I can get something out but I don't care anymore.

Which is kind of a pleasant surprise.

>> go to restaurants like so, for example, in a couple of weeks, I'm going to Los Angeles and popping up in a restaurant called all to that's owned by a James Beard Award.

And winning chef named Daniel Patterson was interested in this.

You know, the intersection of Kentucky in Sri Lanka.

And so that's where I get these opportunities.

So we'll do a split I know about you.

That's I'm still trying figure that part out.

Mean, I guess I am technically all over the place I show up and all the while and then word of mouth.

Literally no word of mouth, right?

Word of mouth is what is carried me more than anything else.

Yeah.

Because this people will say, hey, go try this.

And you know, the very first go try.

This was to chef Edward Lee from a chef others working with Boston.

Yeah.

And he came down and try to he says please lets to a dinner at my place in my.

Okay.

That's amazing.

I have had a very beautiful.

It's unexpected journey and the food world.

Yeah.

And doors.

This is not where you really saw around to go, right?

So no, I wanted to be a consumer behaviorist.

Job, right?

I'm a marketing there.

Yeah.

Like a mike or but I'm also I I can cook and I love to bring people.

So when did you turn your passion to what your passion really was?

2016?

And what prompted that my husband got super He got diagnosed cancer in 2014.

He's been in full since December of 2014, but we looked at each other and I was working in tech and I just cannot stand this job.

And he's like, look, if there's anything that we've learned that life is short, you need to do these opportunities.

You need to take them if it looks like when it's all right.

You know where we have all these people showing up to our house for brunch.

Let me get them out of the house.

That's that will be the first thing.

And then that just grew and grew and grew in on getting people out of their houses across the country.

It's it's kind a great.

What did your parents think of your decision to go into a culinary cuisine?

I did not tell them that.

>> Haha.

>> I I kept that very close to the chest because, you know, when you're when you your parents don't come halfway around the world for you to to not the struggles to not rise to occasion right way.

And my parents didn't come halfway around the world for me to be a dad.

Right?

And so but by doing this, they're seeing the value in sharing the flavors of the grew up with and the culture that we grew up with.

It's a way for them to be able to get things that they missed from home.

Because when I came over in the 70's, it's not like you had an Asian grocery with Sri Lankan stuff here.

But now I can go to the market over a maple leaf and find actual Sri Lankan get.

Yeah.

And so it took a whole new world and you're honoring, yes, their heritage, your heritage.

I'm causing my family.

Yeah.

A lot of family.

My best recipes are based on what my family.

What is your best recipe?

What's your favorite?

My favorite lately has definitely been the jackfruit because I've convinced people that it was me and that's like a total.

So tell me what that is said.

Jackfruit is a very large spiny sort massive plant.

It's huge.

You'll see.

you'll see Meyer and what not everyone.

And when they're younger, they have a very fibers flash.

And so when you cut that off, you can actually make it into a pulled pork substitute.

But in Sri Lanka's, just a traditional curry because it's always there.

But here.

>> If I turn it into a barbecue substitute, that's a gateway for people to try it.

Wow.

>> Consistency.

What same saying.

Yeah.

>> If you throw in the oven for a little bit and let it dry, just a touch.

So are people really surprised by that that like this isn't my favorite travel, the world people, you know, it's like a coconut and coconut curry.

Double tax.

When you take a bite of a double to expect like that paprika, that Manning's that caper and all that.

But you get this red curry and these bright onions and like all sorts of curry leaf notes underneath and a double to people like what is yes, so I love me.

Some deviled eggs now.

See, now, I know I got to bring you.

That's what you got to bring when we come to you.

The next next time is your place.

I hope so.

It will be hopefully by the end of the Yeah, it's here in Lexington de.

That's that's what we would I was getting at when you were talking about the public like how you going to do that and still have a >> brick and mortar.

So you are rationed.

We're focusing on counter service.

We're focusing on the food and I want to make sure that folks get a consistent experience with.

>> Honestly, what we have a time when we're cooking at 38 degrees outside.

And yeah, we're making great food.

And so now that we're taking is all of these external sort of things out.

Hopefully the team can make really great food for Lexington, create something that our town can be really proud of to.

Yeah.

Well, we're really proud of you, Sam.

I mean, I can't wait 8 full, you know, and >> if you want to try anything out, you need some tasters.

I know a good producer and host who will be glad to see all have an excellent team here.

So I think they might have some snacks will be your guinea pigs for certain.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Fans will learn whether the result in June.

I think it is as I was on June.

I think my wrists are announced end of March.

So hopefully I her myself, make it to that round who are going to meet in just a moment?

Yeah, we're wishing the best would be great to Kentuckyian some could we just high.

I mean, seriously and has enough to go around.

But it was all good.

Best of luck to you think we'll be in touch.

We hope that you'll stay with us on connections as we talk with another chef is also bursting onto the food, saying with a >> pay what you can cafe that help in relief, food insecurities across the state.

♪ Thanks for sticking around on connections.

I'm Renee Shaw.

One in 8 Kentucky ends is facing hunger according to Feeding America.

That's with the cost of an average meal totaling nearly $3.

One restaurant in Versailles, Kentucky is on a mission to make food more accessible.

Spohr Community Cafe is a pay.

What you can restaurant since opening in 2019.

It's donated more than 50,000 meals.

Now chef Isaiah Screech is being recognized as one of the outstanding shelves in the Southeast.

And he joins me today to talk about that nomination.

His restaurants, motto, to Feed your Body.

Nourish your Soul it's good to have you.

It's good to be here.

Congratulations, by the way.

Thank you.

This is quite the honor.

It is.

Yeah.

And you are surprised by it right with the state.

We say the James Beard Award.

Yes, totally shot.

Yeah.

And so we heard our previous guest, Samantha for, you know, I believe yes, she kind of gave us some skinny on all of that kind of process.

But you've told me some of that think I hadn't heard about how these nominations are just like your submission on paper and it's that kind of thing.

So walk us through how you even get into this elites nomination process.

>> So every year the James Beard Foundation, they they open up for nominations and during that process, anybody can submit application for you they have a list, a things that you have to submit back to them.

But one of the main things is that they have in the application process is basically how what you're doing aligns with parts of their mission, as you know, their foundation and their core values and what they believe.

And so when we started the volunteer at our cafe, who is also the chair of our board.

It's park Lori Garc past Professor UK.

She decided that she wanted to do this and she thought that it would be fitting, especially for the type of restaurant that we are and what we do and what we believe fan.

And she originally wanted to nominate myself and other chef at the cafe.

His name is Antwan Walker.

She wanted to nominate as both and the restaurant.

She wanted to do it off.

>> And if you know, Lori, when she's when she's on a mission, she's on a mission.

But she said, well, this year we have we can only do one and being that you helped us start this wonderful restaurant and get it going off the ground.

Just like I think we'll start with you first.

And she just wrote everything up and, you know, I kind of just stuck in the back of my mind.

I forgot about it.

And then when we learned about the announcement, all this stuff like I was totally shocked.

>> Yeah.

So would like to talk about those It sounds like they're very principled and what they believe in.

Like you said, your missions really do online.

>> some of the things that she wrote about was, you know, how how are we using and being resourceful with the community.

You know, what are we doing?

What is our restaurant stand for?

Basically the belief sons and all the things that, you know, we value there.

And of course, one of the things that you said in the beginning as we want to we want to feed your body and also, you know, we want to nurse 10 so too.

And, you know, our biggest mission is that we want to be able to take care of.

Those are less fortunate in our community.

And we know that we won't be able to end the whole stigma with, you know, the food and security and all that stuff there.

But we do want to be a big part of trying to knock that down.

And as you said, with our 50,000 meals that we've served since March of 2019, I feel like that.

We put a big dent in that.

Yeah.

And then also being able to give back to our local farmers.

So since we've opened in 2019, we've given over $47,000.

2 farmers in our local community and I'm pretty much within a 2025 mile radius.

We've been able to give $47,000 to local farmers.

So you're giving money back.

So I don't understand how you stay in business and KET the lights on.

So if it's pay as you go.

>> And then you're paying farmers.

I mean, what kind of profit margins are you guys running?

So basically what we're doing is we're we're running off of a lot of donations.

And we've been very fortunate that inside of our cafe, we have 2 donor was we have one wall of people that helped to get us started.

And then we also have another wall of people that are donors and they continue to donate to the cafe.

So after COVID happen and we came back.

We were right on the brink of closing the door.

And I said, you know, I've got an idea about how we can KET this thing up and running.

So I worked at Keeneland for over 11 years and I started there right out of the most.

I was young, right?

Almost out of high school and I had worked there seasonally and then I came on full-time and started working for them and work my way up through the ranks as you know, first, I started off as just, you know, a line cook and then I went a chef banquet.

Chef garments a show.

Yeah.

And just kept going well.

That gave me a lot of catering experience because people look at Keeneland is just a place for racing but racing.

It's just a part of know what to do it for the bread.

Put it.

>> But he can win it.

It took off and became this destination wedding to lace and.

>> And a place for corporate sponsors and all them to have events there.

So we was catering and I was working every day there.

And hi again, so much experience from them.

So I took that to spark with me.

I say we need to start catering and from there, it's how you is, how we're able to KET the doors open and I think last this past December alone, we did probably close to $60,000.

Justin Catering, so we had some factories that reached out in.

I mean, me and a small crew of people were doing events for 850 employees at factories and all of these things to be able to, to sustain us and to KET us up and running saying don't have to sleep so much as I could get very little sometimes.

But that's how we're able to KET the doors open.

So our powers are limited during the week.

So we over from 11 to 2.

>> But we have to do that so that we KET our self available.

For all of the other catering gigs that we get that are that are keeping us running, that KET the lights on that.

KET us be able to get back and feed the food insecure.

>> Well, that's that's His model.

That is yes.

Yeah.

And you know, when you think about because we actually highlighted the restaurant back when Kentucky Edition a new programs on KET started in the summer in July.

And, you know, talk to volunteers and executive director there and and the people the point was made about the relationships that are built.

So it is not yet not just feeding you, but you're like nourishing, the spirit of people who often are just overlooked.

Yeah.

And like, you know, you said before we started taping that people in the community may sometimes a good.

He was a glorified soup kitchen.

I mean, is that an insult to you at all?

Sometimes it is.

But >> once we get people inside the door.

It's always amazing to walk out and look at him and get that second response from them.

It's like, okay.

You thought we was just this.

Now, what do you think about that?

Yeah, because half of the restaurants that you would go to chain restaurants or whatever you may go to them.

You say all the food is good.

But the thing is is walking inside of spark.

I know where my food is coming from.

I have had contact with that farmer just that morning or yesterday.

I'm washing the dirt off of my produce.

I'm I'm seeing all of these things happen and then it's coming out of our kitchen.

We're making it.

We're processing it.

And it's coming right to the table.

And I mean, just like yesterday I had a call with one of our that's a he's a beef farmer.

And he called me and said I'm taking account to the processor.

Let me know what you need.

I can bring it to you.

I mean, it's yeah, it's just a good day.

You know, people come and that's one of the things they come for is the hamburger.

And I said, you know, that's just not your ordinary I know where that that that defense coming.

That's right.

And I mean, that's what makes it special to me.

And then not bad people like us.

It's just they can walk in and afford to pay these prices for this.

But they were able to feed that less fortunate person hamburger.

And we know the price of beef and not paying north of $7.

A pound for grass-fed beef and I can give that same quality to somebody that's less fortunate than me.

That that's amazing.

Yeah, because I think sometimes we think that people who can't afford much don't deserve much either.

>> Exactly right, that we should give them just whatever is left over in a grateful for that.

Yes.

And so it's like you're saying you're worth every bit of the high quality, the Kobe beef or whatever you want to call it.

Whatever kind of, you know, whatever kind of beef it is, you're worthy of that.

And then to provide a space that is beautiful.

And I mean, you know, you walk in there, you wouldn't think that it's just >> some place that we would be doing this or that this restaurant will be function and out of.

And we had a we've got a guy that employed there with us and his first take when he walked to the door after being on the street and traveling all the way from Ohio.

And he made his journey down and somehow ended in for sales goodness.

And he walked to the door in the first thing that he thought was this place is not for me.

And then he said, well, you go back going any walked in and he said he never would have thought that there would be a place that would be of that caliber that he could walk and enjoy a meal and b, fed with so much dignity.

>> On his humanity.

Yes, what it does.

Yeah.

And for those who can't pay, I mean, they might.

>> Help out in the kitchen a little bit or help around on.

>> During the summer we have guys to come almost every day.

They wash windows for us.

They'll put up the chance to sweep the floor that pretty much do what we ask him to do.

you know, we respect them and they respect us and they respect the place.

Yeah.

>> So I mean, how did you even get involved?

And I call it culinary Wow, you know, how did you get that spark for you?

>> So I've been cooking every sense.

A kid apparently there are pictures of me at my grandma's house of me on the table as a baby.

And I've always had spone's in west and all that stuff.

In my hand, I used to drag him out of the kitchen and get in trouble for him.

I'm sure.

But I mean, from the beginning, I guess it was destined for me, too, to cook.

Yeah.

I tried to run away from it for about 2 or 3 years.

I tried to get a job at Amazon when they came to Lexington and I worked there for a while.

But I just want happy and I that high-end backup a I'm going to Cayman and from there, I've just taken off since then.

Yeah.

>> I mean, what's what's the gratification you get?

Because you could be working.

>> At any?

>> 5 star type restaurant right?

But is this much more gratifying for you.

>> So what keeps me going back to spark every single day is definitely what we stand for our mission.

What we do, the people I work with it's just like we're a family there.

And I had one guy that worked there today and he looked up and he said thank you for providing such a great place for people to work and for us to come and be able to enjoy each other and enjoy one another.

So it's the people there.

It's being able to have the autonomy to be as creative as I want to be.

And then to let others be as creative as they want to be with what we're given, what we can get just to be able to go out in the dining room and share that love and all that stuff and to have people coming.

We had a holder gentleman today walk in the cafe and he was like I drove all the way from Lexington just to meet you.

And you know, that's what keeps me going back is, you know, our customer base and yeah, it's exciting.

So that's why we're rooting for you.

>> And we're also running for Sam.

Yes, on this James Beard Award because you both a deserving for the heart and the passion and the community spirit in which you're serving.

So this a pleasure to meet you.

It's really been awesome to me to meet you and best of success to you.

Even if you don't get out that award this time, you know, yeah, still good.

It's also good.

Okay.

Check them out there in Versailles, OK, you don't want to miss that out.

You don't want to miss out on that and to help others who are in need.

Thank you so much for watching this episode of connections.

It's been a good one.

You can follow me on Facebook on Twitter and you can listen to our Programs on podcast K T Dot Org.

Slash podcast.

Until I see you again.

Take really good care.

So long.