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| Ouita Michel |
Kentucky Kernel, University of Kentucky
Ouita Michel has perfected her recipe for prosperity. To her, it’s delicious, and the customers at her chain of restaurants across Kentucky would probably agree.
Michel happily boasts seven restaurants: Holly Hill Inn, Wallace Station, The Midway Bakery, Windy Corner Market and Restaurant, Smithtown Seafood, Glenn’s Creek Cafe and Honeywood. While some of these locations are rather new and others are well-established, all of these food stops are a testament of the same tenacity and passion Michel has had all her life.
Michel has had such a positive impact that the University of Kentucky will give its respect on April 21, when the UK Art Museum and College of Fine Arts will host "An Inspired Evening," a soiree and fundraising event honoring Michel. It will feature dance, music, drinks and heavy hors d'ouevres made by Michel-trained chefs, at $75 a ticket.
Michel had not always looked to the kitchen for her future. While she now competes against other top chefs for James Beard Foundation Award nominations, she used to compete with top debaters for the National Debate Tournament championship at UK.
She credits debate, the honors program and being in the first class of Gaines humanities fellows at UK with guiding her to the path she wanted to take in life. Among the people who also helped guide her were former poet laureate Jane Gentry Vance, Herb Reid and Michel’s debate coach, Roger Solt.
One of the proudest achievements in Michel’s life was winning the National Debate Tournament in her senior year, 1986, with a debate topic of education reform.
“It was a really near and dear subject to my heart,” she said.
Michel and her partner, David Brownell, beat Washington D.C.’s Georgetown College 4-1. The win cemented Michel as only the second woman to win the national debate championship. Though there were a few, yet talented, women debaters, Michel shined as an accomplished woman in what her coach calls a “male-dominated activity.”
She said it was a “fantastic moment” to be rewarded for working about 60 hours a week researching and practicing.
Michel had not always looked to the kitchen for her future. While she now competes against other top chefs for James Beard Foundation Award nominations, she used to compete with top debaters for the National Debate Tournament championship at UK.
She credits debate, the honors program and being in the first class of Gaines humanities fellows at UK with guiding her to the path she wanted to take in life. Among the people who also helped guide her were former poet laureate Jane Gentry Vance, Herb Reid and Michel’s debate coach, Roger Solt.
One of the proudest achievements in Michel’s life was winning the National Debate Tournament in her senior year, 1986, with a debate topic of education reform.
“It was a really near and dear subject to my heart,” she said.
Michel and her partner, David Brownell, beat Washington D.C.’s Georgetown College 4-1. The win cemented Michel as only the second woman to win the national debate championship. Though there were a few, yet talented, women debaters, Michel shined as an accomplished woman in what her coach calls a “male-dominated activity.”
She said it was a “fantastic moment” to be rewarded for working about 60 hours a week researching and practicing.
Michel credits debate with one of her greatest moments, as well as leading her to her future career. The team traveled to places like Boston, Chicago and Atlanta, allowing her to experience a myriad of food along the way. Even though she loved cooking as a child, it was through these cross-country trips that she took cooking seriously.
This love inspired Michel to head to New York City and try the restaurant scene. The venture up north only made her love for food grow. Michel attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and graduated first in her class before bringing her talents back to the Bluegrass State.
Michel was able to get her feet in the door of the Kentucky food industry thanks to another successful female restaurateur, Debbie Long, owner of Dudley’s on Short. Long was a mentor and an inspiration to Michel, along with other "foodie" women like Lucie Slone Meyers and Libby Murray.
“There were a lot of women in the restaurant business that were very successful in this area that were role models,” Michel said.
In 2000, Michel bought Holly Hill Inn and opened the restaurant the next year.
Michel prides herself on her incorporation of Kentucky “food culture.” This includes farmers’ markets, fast food, restaurants, food trucks and even poetry about local agriculture. Michel said food culture includes everything from foods historically eaten in a specific location to the experience and production of food now and even the introduction of new types of food.
“It’s like what we write about food, what we think about food, where we buy food, how we eat food,” Michel said. “It can be defined by our individual families, and those individual families when they come together form communities, and those smaller communities come together and create a larger community that is Lexington and central Kentucky and then the commonwealth of Kentucky. It’s a big, interesting melting pot and trying to get people to think broadly about food culture rather than super narrowly.”
Each of Michel’s restaurants are a little different, but using locally produced foods is one thing every location has in common.
“If you’re using locally growth agriculture that’s part of what makes it Kentucky because this was grown in Kentucky from Kentucky soil,” she said.
Michel said she wants others to succeed as much as she has. She is involved with UK HealthCare and the International Society of Neurogastronomy in an effort to help chronically ill patients conquer appetite issues. She works with the UK College of Agriculture to help match small producers with small markets. She occasionally speaks to the Lewis Honors College. She helps young adults hoping to enter into the culinary industry by promoting them and giving them challenges and advice. She tries especially hard to make her restaurants safe places for working women.
“I just try to make sure that in my businesses women feel supported, heard, empowered, and I want that for my daughter,” Michel said. “I feel that way about women, I feel that way about all kinds of different people, that we need to be tolerant and we need to listen to one another and everyone should be treated fairly.”
This love inspired Michel to head to New York City and try the restaurant scene. The venture up north only made her love for food grow. Michel attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and graduated first in her class before bringing her talents back to the Bluegrass State.
Michel was able to get her feet in the door of the Kentucky food industry thanks to another successful female restaurateur, Debbie Long, owner of Dudley’s on Short. Long was a mentor and an inspiration to Michel, along with other "foodie" women like Lucie Slone Meyers and Libby Murray.
“There were a lot of women in the restaurant business that were very successful in this area that were role models,” Michel said.
In 2000, Michel bought Holly Hill Inn and opened the restaurant the next year.
Michel prides herself on her incorporation of Kentucky “food culture.” This includes farmers’ markets, fast food, restaurants, food trucks and even poetry about local agriculture. Michel said food culture includes everything from foods historically eaten in a specific location to the experience and production of food now and even the introduction of new types of food.
“It’s like what we write about food, what we think about food, where we buy food, how we eat food,” Michel said. “It can be defined by our individual families, and those individual families when they come together form communities, and those smaller communities come together and create a larger community that is Lexington and central Kentucky and then the commonwealth of Kentucky. It’s a big, interesting melting pot and trying to get people to think broadly about food culture rather than super narrowly.”
Each of Michel’s restaurants are a little different, but using locally produced foods is one thing every location has in common.
“If you’re using locally growth agriculture that’s part of what makes it Kentucky because this was grown in Kentucky from Kentucky soil,” she said.
Michel said she wants others to succeed as much as she has. She is involved with UK HealthCare and the International Society of Neurogastronomy in an effort to help chronically ill patients conquer appetite issues. She works with the UK College of Agriculture to help match small producers with small markets. She occasionally speaks to the Lewis Honors College. She helps young adults hoping to enter into the culinary industry by promoting them and giving them challenges and advice. She tries especially hard to make her restaurants safe places for working women.
“I just try to make sure that in my businesses women feel supported, heard, empowered, and I want that for my daughter,” Michel said. “I feel that way about women, I feel that way about all kinds of different people, that we need to be tolerant and we need to listen to one another and everyone should be treated fairly.”
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