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By
Sharon Thompson
HERALD-LEADER FOOD WRITER
Monday,
April 26, 2004
Gil Logan has discovered he's in love with Kentucky food.
The realization came after Logan, the new executive chef at Churchill
Downs, ate at festivals and fairs, visited farms and restaurants,
and gathered cookbooks from throughout the state. more
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John
Medley, founder of Happy Hollow Farms
Happy Hollow
Farms supplied more than 1,000 hogs and six tons of pork to
Churchill Downs. For more about the farm and how to buy Kentucky
Proud pork at their new Louisville retail store, click
here
Bio
of Chef Gil Logan
Churchill
Downs: Coverage of the 2004 Kentucky Derby.
About
Levy Restaurants: Levy Restaurants, the
food service provider for Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby,
have teamed to offer the finest Kentucky foods prepared with a gourmet
flair.
SYSCO,
distributor of Medley's pork at Churchill
Downs and credited by Commissioner Farmer as "a great corporate
citizen working hard to expand the offering of Kentucky products..."
KDA
contact: Winifred Molohon was instrumental in getting Logan,
Medley, Sysco and the others together on the Derby deal. Restaurant
owners, producers and others who would like assistance from the
Kentucky Department of Agriculture can reach Winifred
by e-mail or by phone at (502) 564-0290 x243.
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What
do pigs have to do with the Kentucky Derby –
and cheese, mint, jams?
From Millionaire’s Row and Jockey Club Suites to every concession
stand, all smoked pork served Kentucky Derby weekend will come from Kentucky
farmers who got a major boost because of Churchill Downs executive chef
Gil Logan.
Logan ordered 12,000 pounds of pork from John Medley and his nine producers
connected to Happy Hollow Farms of Washington County. Logan sought nearly
$200,000 of prime Kentucky beef cuts and hopes to close the beef deal
next year so that everything on the Derby menu comes from Kentucky.
Chef
Gil Logan, executive chef of Churchill Downs
“Chefs who aren’t seeking out Kentucky products are the stupidest
people on the planet,” Logan said with bluntness and a smile. “Why
look all over the country for something that I can get across the street
for a nickel more a pound and that I know does not have a single preservative
or additive?”
Within one day, Medley was able to fill an order for more than 1,000 hogs
and have six tons of pork to Logan’s barbecue smokers at Churchill
Downs.
Logan placed a similarly large order for Kenny’s Country Cheese
of Barren County, for jam from WindStone Farms in Bourbon County, and
for honey, Derby pies and more from other Kentucky producers. Even the
mint for the mint juleps comes from a Kentucky Proud producer –
Bill Dohn, a Jefferson County herb grower with a large greenhouse operation.
“When you consider what the Kentucky Derby means to horse racing
and the history of Kentucky, the food needs to be as steeped in tradition
as the Derby,” Logan said.
Logan said Kenny’s cheese is an example of the old ways. “This
is handcrafted, artisan cheese just like it was done in the late 1800s,”
Logan said.
Logan is employed by Levy Restaurants, a premier skybox food and entertainment
group that serves top professional sporting events nationwide. Logan has
served as executive chef at the home of Major League Baseball’s
Pittsburgh Pirates and at Pro Player Stadium in Miami.
“We already know what Churchill Downs means to the horse industry,”
Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “We are especially
grateful to them for providing another boost to Kentucky agriculture because
of Chef Logan’s vision.”
Farmer also credited SYSCO-Louisville Food Services Co. as “a great
corporate citizen working hard to expand the offering of Kentucky products
for the restaurant industry.” The nation’s largest food distributor
coordinated Medley’s pork order and delivery.
Contact:
John Asher at Churchill Downs, (502) 494-3626, or Roger Snell at the Kentucky
Department of Agriculture, (502) 564-6676 x248.
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