Q&A
Isaac Fox
Owner + Bar Manager • La Chasse
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MOMENTOUS RESTAURANT JOB?
strating my knowledge that I end up talking down to you. I won’t get into how much I know about how the vineyard slopes in the northern side of the Rhone Valley. Who wants to hear that? I’ll talk to you as long, and in as much detail, as you want to. And if you just want to order a wine, I’ll recommend something I think might be right for you so you can go back to hanging out with your friends.
Many, certainly. But when I was tending bar at the old Windsor Restaurant and Gardens in New Albany, I met Tenielle Allshouse, who was getting her culinary arts degree at Sullivan University. She became my wife – and mother to my five children.
WAS SHE INSTRUMENTAL IN YOUR STARTING LA CHASSE? Yes. Even before we were married, we used to have these “let’s open our own restaurant” conversations. We sketched out menus and cocktail lists, just for fun, and played around with names.
WHAT DO YOU ASK THEM?
HOW, AND WHY, DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME LA CHASSE? La Chasse means “the hunt,” which is the key to our food and concept. To Alex and me, the hunt relates to game: rabbit, venison, duck, elk, pheasant, which French country folk eat. Secondly, though, it’s also the hunt for fresh produce, as local, organic and best-quality as possible. And thirdly, it has a personal meaning: We both have a drive, a hunt for perfection, never to be satisfied with “okay,” always looking for ways to improve our craft.
TO YOU, WHAT DOES BEING A “GOOD BARTENDER” MEAN? A “good” bartender is [a] a really big hospitality person; [b] very fast, keeping up with however demanding the volume becomes; [c] knows his regulars by their first names; and [d] is willing to listen to what his customers want and like, and to experiment.
MOST INFLUENTIAL BARTENDER YOU’VE WORKED WITH? There were many, but Reina Shannon, who trained me at Basa, was legendary around here. She had a wonderful personality, connected to her customers and was also
incredibly fast, accurate and knowledgeable. Plus, she was big into craft cocktails, which were growing in Louisville at the time.
DO YOU REMEMBER AN “AH-HA” MOMENT IN YOUR BARTENDING CAREER? Steven Ton, the co-owner at Basa, was knowledgeable about cocktails and wine, and had a great palate. He sat down at the bar one night and ordered our specialty house Manhattan. I stirred it too long and it became watery. The next night, I tried not to stir it as long, and it was “too hot” – there was too much alcoholic heat. I hadn’t diluted it enough. About a week later, he proclaimed it “perfect!” And that was the compliment of the year for me.
HOW DO YOU RECOMMEND WINE TO A GUEST? I ask and I listen, to help you out but not to show off. I’m not so interested in demon-
Three questions: [1] Do you want full-bodied, or something lighter? [2] Do you want an old world wine or a new world wine? Old world wines tend to be higher in acid, lower in alcohol, more earthy, less fruit-forward. And [3] Do you have a favorite brand or varietal? With those questions, I can usually bring them something they like without being snobbish or too much of a wine geek.
WHERE DO YOU GET THE WOOD FOR YOUR WOOD-FIRED OVEN? We use a 50/50 blend of oak and cherry. I actually split the wood myself, out back every day. I grew up in the country. Splitting wood is my release.
ANY SPECIAL EVENTS PLANNED FOR LA CHASSE? Yes. On February 13, we’re having a pre-Valentine’s Day wine dinner. We’re calling it an “aphrodisiac dinner.” We’re pairing five different wines with the kinds of items normally associated with love, like oysters, Champagne and chocolate. Also, we’re having a fund raiser for the Animal Care Society on February 27. And on March 27, a cocktail dinner with Maker’s Mark, creating five courses of cocktails that pair with five courses of food. We’ll create all the drinks – small cocktails, of course.
TOPS LOUISVILLE | February 2017 101