TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/974613
We could fly them, but even waiting two to three days changes the flavor profile." "We want to be able to have everything fresh," Bramer added. "Our goal is to be able to say, 'this eggplant on the menu came from that garden out here, do you want to go see it?' Some higher-end restaurants have interactive iPad menus; we'd love to have that and for guests to be able to point and say, 'this is what I want to go see', maybe go out and actually pick some of their own vegetables and have the chef prepare it. There are lots of unique opportunities we can have on a working farm." The farm-to-table, and the educational, theme at the Kentucky Castle doesn't stop with the restaurant. Bramer said they are planning to plant lavender fields to produce their own soaps and shampoos for the hotel. "Right now in our hotel most of our soaps and shampoos are made by a local group, and we want to be able to teach people how to make lavender soaps and oils, and those kinds of things," he said. Such an ambitious vision and passion certainly requires a chef who shares it, and Bramer and his partners didn't take the process of finding the perfect person lightly. When they found Walls, however, Bramer said it was love at first sight. "We looked all over and we really wanted the perfect person for this because it was going to take a special person to be able to take this concept that we had in mind and really make it a reality," he said. "We spoke with lots of different chefs and Ryan, who is one of the