p12-23_Profiles_sp05.qxd
4/17/05
8:33 PM
It’ll be a while before Castro qualifies as an old chef, though. He’s 43, and still an ambitious, energetic advocate for the power of Kentucky cuisine. “I’d like to do what I can to see the flavors of this region show through and develop a national reputation that goes beyond country ham, Bourbon and sorghum,” he said. “We’re every bit as powerful in terms of farming, fresh vegetables and meats as anyplace in the country. And with the things our suppliers are showing up with these days, I think we could compete with everything you read about California. This is a great farming area, and I don’t think people really understand that nationally.” If Castro has his way, they will—not only through the products of his own kitchen, but through the work of chefs
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he’s mentored over the years like Jerome Pope at the Coach Lamp, Nathan Carlson at Avalon, Kevin Rice at Mitchell’s Fish Market and Maureen Hartman at Café Fraiche. “I love having young chefs and students around,” said Castro, who got his own training in the field, working in kitchens after finishing a business degree at Transylvania University in Lexington. “It keeps you on your toes. The key to being successful in this business is they have to have the desire to give whatever it takes. You can look into almost anybody’s eyes and tell whether they’re there to learn or if they’re there because the student loans are mounting up on them. I look for the desire. I’ve always been driven by a desire to do this; it’s never been anything else. I like people like that around me.”
Then he unleashes a gardening metaphor: “I want to plant each person in fertile soil and help ’em along and see how they grow. That’s what I do. I’m not a taskmaster beatin’ it into people. I want people who have that desire built in. If it is, then we have healthy roots and a healthy planet at the end of the day. I want somebody who really, really wants to do it. The hours are long; you work when everybody else is playing. Unless you’ve got those kinds of things ready in your head and know that, you aren’t going to be happy doing it. But if somebody knows what they want, then off we go.”
Chef Joe Castro’s sautéed halibut with fried oysters, melted spinach and fennel topped with a tomato fondue.