Making a Mark at Acadiana

A Fashionable Celebration Honoring Chef Jeff Tunks as a 2010 Kentucky Colonel

Chef Jeff Tunks certainly gets around. From chairing the board of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans, to founding the Reykjavik Food & Fun Festival in Iceland, and in November, 2010 he was able to add one more star to his toque as the Lexington Convention and Visitors Board named him an Honorary Kentucky Colonel.

In recognition of his efforts to promote bourbon at Acadiana, a Passion Food Hospitality restaurant, chef Tunks was presented the Kentucky Colonel Commission in a bourbon infused celebration of Southern cuisine at Acadiana on November 4. Kentucky’s own, thrice James Beard Award nominated chef Ouita Michel from Holly Hill Inn joined Tunks to create an exceptional five-course menu that united the best flavors of the south. In addition to a bourbon tasting reception in lieu of a traditional cocktail hour, Maker’s Mark Master Distiller, Greg Davis, presentd Maker’s 46 – Maker’s Mark Distillery’s first new product in five decades.

The proof was in the price – $94 for five celebrated dishes and bourbon pairings, straight up or specialty cocktails – including the 94 proof Maker’s 46.