Just a Few Miles South

"Just a Few Miles South's traditional Kentucky recipes take me back to my grandmother's table. And I'm delighted that among so many treasures, the recipes for the peerless soup beans and cornbread I've devoured on so many visits to Wallace Station are included. Throughout her restaurants and this book, the use of locally sourced ingredients combined with expert preparations become edible love letters to Kentuckians. Thank you, Ouita!"—Susan Reigler, coauthor of Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? and a former restaurant critic for the Louisville Courier-Journal

"Chef Ouita is the undisputed queen of Kentucky cooking. Her understated yet elegant cooking has done more for the region than anyone else I can think of. She is a mentor, an activist, and a force! With Just a Few Miles South, she shares her love for her home and shows us what makes that place and her so special!"—Vishwesh Bhatt, winner of the 2019 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South

"Just a Few Miles South is a brilliant field guide to the food and culture of the Bluegrass, as embodied by Ouita's family of restaurants. It's a cookbook that feels as dear to me as a family heirloom, packed with the recipes I've treasured most from my time at Wallace Station and the Holly Hill Inn (as both a patron and a chef), scaled down and simplified for the home cook."—Stella Parks, pastry chef and New York Times-bestselling author of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts

"The boundless beauty of Kentucky cuisine is joyfully captured in these pages by a chef who has defined this region with her cooking. She is a custodian of tradition, a magician of flavor, and her restaurants are the narratives that tell us who we are in Kentucky. This book will be a treasure for generations to come."—Edward Lee, chef and author of Buttermilk Graffiti (winner of James Beard Award for Best Book of the Year in Writing) and Smoke & Pickles

"Michel, the chef and restaurateur behind [seven] Kentucky restaurants, shares simple and satisfying recipes from each of her eateries in this charming cookbook. . . . Home cooks will enjoy the simplicity and heartiness jam-packed into this collection."—Publishers Weekly

"Ouita champions many of the good things we associate with old and new Kentucky, from lard can burgoo to banh mi with bourbon mayonnaise. In this love letter to her state and her people, her cooking and advocacy entwine, making a strong case for the power of food to make a difference in our daily lives."—John T. Edge, author of The Potlikker Papers

"This new compendium of recipes from across her empire celebrates the region's historic disheswhile lovingly casting a spotlight on the people who are making dishes like Bourbon Banh Mi and a Wallace Cubano into new Kentucky classics."—Food & Wine

"With the challenges facing dine-in restaurants this past year, this cookbook will offer a springtime solution for Kentucky food lovers who want to re-create the same flavors from Chef Ouita restaurants at home."—Ace Magazine

"A one-stop-shop for the dishes that all Southern home cooks need to know."—Garden & Gun

"Just a Few Miles South features next-level fixings . . . sure to jazz up even the most desultory work-from-home lunch. . . . Brenna Flannery's line drawings make this a strikingly beautiful book in black and white, but it's also as deliciously down-to-earth as can be."—BookPage

"With the healthy dose of local history and fare wound into this presentation, it stands out from the crowd as a Bluegrass cultural food guide and cookbook gem."—Donovan's Literary Services

"Just a Few Miles South is an interesting book that should please any foodie who appreciates classic Kentucky dishes. Readers who have patronized some of the Michel Family of Restaurants may of course relate to the authors' comments in a special way, but any cook/baker can profit by the detailed recipes for each dish and enjoy the cultural insights provided along the way."—Bowling Green Daily News

"The recipes in this book are so good, when you taste them you'll want to—in the words of legendary Southern cook, Ernest Matthew Mickler—'lay down on the floor and scream!'"—The Winchester Sun