Food TV’s Bobby Flay, who attends the yearling sales at Keeneland, is reported to be scoping out Louisville as a cite for a new restaurant in his little empire (he already has 8 restaurants, 18 burger places and too many cooking shows).
The Courier-Journal quotes him as finding Louisville a daunting prospect for an outsider celebrity to into. “Louisville is a place that has its own food culture. I feel like I’ll be up against it.”
Whatever you might think about TV celebrity chefs like Flay, it is worth feeling a little frisson of pride when someone who buys racehorses as a hobby recognizes the hard work of Louisville’s chefs and restaurateurs.
Business (and now food business) writer Jere Downs wrote in her story that Flay will be looking at several locations, (he expressed appreciation for the architectural variety around town), but that he was unwilling to commit himself about a possible menu concept for his possible restaurant.
He did muse to Downs about his newest New York restaurant, Gato, which focuses on Mediterranean flavors. “Louisville might be a place to experiment with that,” Flay told Downs, “…light dishes, and a lot more flavors.”
