We have a new chef, Alison Settle:
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Alison studied biology at the University of Kentucky before moving to Munich, Germany. There, Settle’s growing excitement to prepare and serve delicious food matched with her fascination of biology, thus placing her in an advantageous position to enroll in culinary school. During her time at Sullivan University’s Culinary Arts Program in Lexington and Louisville, Settle honed her skills in some of the region’s top kitchens, including Holly Hill Inn, Woodford Reserve, Holy Grale, Portage House, Gralehaus, and Pizza Lupo.
Her first executive chef position was at the restaurant and butcher shop Red Hog, where she specialized in continuously rotating menus and tip-to-tail utilization of proteins and produce. After honing these skills, she was tapped by Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown to open culinary operations at Barn8 and Hermitage Farm, a hyper-Bluegrass agritourism project combining the best of Kentucky’s offerings, including bourbon, agriculture, equine operations, food, and hospitality.
Her works and interviews have been featured in Forbes, Food & Wine, Garden & Gun, and Southern Living, as well as multiple local tv and media appearances, podcasts, and blogs. In 2022, Chef Alison Settle was named a James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southeast Semi-finalist. She was selected to participate in multiple television culinary competitions, including Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay, and Chopped. She was also chosen to compete in the James Beard Foundation’s Women in Culinary Leadership Cookoff, San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition, and was a 2nd place finalist in Maple Leaf Duck Farm’s student recipe contest.
