Travel KY: The Year of Kentucky Food
Food. It’s as much as part of Kentucky as bourbon, horses and our beautiful landscapes. So, why not celebrate all of Kentucky’s iconic dishes and local flavor? While this year has been declared “The Year of Kentucky Food,” it’s only the beginning. We hope that locals and visitors will go on this culinary journey with us for years to come.
For many of us born and raised in Kentucky, it is easy to take for granted the food, culture and heritage that makes Kentucky so uniquely special to residents and visitors alike! Over the past several years, I have experienced the local flavors of each region as I have traveled throughout the state.
Stories. Stories of unique dishes offer a reflection of centuries of Kentucky food traditions. They each represent our history and the people who created them. For example, one of the stories that stuck with me from my travels is the food represented in our two eastern Kentucky regions.
When family members would come home from working in the coal mines, soup beans, corn bread and salmon patties were a staple at the table. This was an economical way for families to have a meal together. It could be made in large quantities for a large amount of people. Another example is the apple stack cake: A community wedding cake rooted in Appalachian mountain culture, each family would contribute a different layer. Legend has it that the more popular the bride, the more layers of cake.
There are many stories just like these from across each of our nine tourism regions. We hope to tell as many of these stories as we possibly can this year and in the years to come. From country ham, burgoo, fish, goetta, spider cornbread, the hotbrown, to jam cake and others — we will be featuring all the best culinary dishes Kentucky has to offer.
For the first time, our recently released visitors guide focuses on all the flavors of Kentucky. It highlights each of the tourism regions across the state and meals from each of those regions. It gives visitors an inside view of Kentucky’s iconic culinary heritage and features dishes that are sure to make you hungry.
The electronic version of the visitors guide can be found at KentuckyTourism.com and will help you eat your way through the state — offering restaurant ideas and culinary trails to help discover new food and drink experiences. Because as Kentuckians, we all know it’s definitely Better in the Bluegrass. I ask you to come along with us on our culinary journey through Kentucky!
The Kentucky Department of Tourism is excited to launch the Year of Kentucky Food, but that’s only the beginning. The state’s nine tourism regions celebrate time-honored dishes that are as much a part of the place as the land and its people. If you visit the Caves, Lakes and Corvettes region, it is all about the pork chops and sweet corn—fried and cream style. Bourbon, Horses & History loves its Kentucky Bibb salad dressed in Benedictine dressing, while Bluegrass, Horses, Bourbon & Boone cherishes its beer cheese. Western Waterlands is all about baked country ham and Bluegrass, Blues & Barbecue is famous for burgoo and barbecued mutton. Dig into pinto beans, spider cornbread, collard greens and fried fish from Southern Shorelines or chow-chow and soup beans from Daniel Boone Country. Savor the taste of salmon patties from Kentucky Appalachians and goetta from Northern Kentucky.
