Kirt talks about the important history of Juneteenth.
McGarity grew up in rural South Carolina, his mom & mamaw instilled a passion for food at an early age. After going to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University & working in Charleston, SC for many years.
In 2004, he moved to Louisville and was encouraged that the food scene had much to offer a young chef & fell in love with the city.
After working at several Louisville fine dining places as Executive Chef, he was ready to open a restaurant as both Executive Chef & Owner. With the help of his wife, Laura, The Fat Lamb ModernKitchen & Bar opened in Nov. 2016. The small, open-kitchen concept has received a great response from the highlands neighborhood within which it is located & continues to serve both local patrons & visitors upscale comfort food with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.
In March of 2018, Chef Dallas was approached to purchase Portage House Restaurant in Jeffersonville, IN. The riverfront view of the old house that the restaurant sits in was so charming that he & his wife decided it was time to expand. Portage House re-opened on March 23rd, 2018 with a new menu & new owners.
Portage House & The Fat Lamb both continue to provide exceptional cuisine & fantastic service with unique atmospheres.
Since then, Chef Dallas has also taken on the Louisville food service operations at Copper & Kings Distillery with Alex&nder, the 3rd-floor lounge/bar at the distillery serving a creative menu that changes frequently.
With all these different projects going on & a family life to maintain, Chef Dallas continues to support the community by doing many charity events each year & trying to give back to the community whenever possible. Dallas has received such Honors and Awards as:
Charitable Contributions & events Dallas has contributed to are: Bourbon & Bowties, Taste of St. Raphael, Home of the Innocent Backyard BBQ, Cabbage Patch Settlement House, Conrad Caldwell house; Gilda’s club; Highland Presbyterian Weekday School, Mama-to Mama; JCPS Chef’s Club for Elementary Students, State Fair Cooking demonstrations; March of Dimes; APRON Inc; Bloom Elementary School; Louisville Leopards among many others.
Dallas, & his lovely wife Laura & 2 children reside in Louisville.
From the time she learned how to draw at the age of 2, Ms. Baker has dreamt of becoming an artist. Endowed with a strong work ethic & the support of her parents, Alfred Seiders & Rosalee (Wilson) Withrow, she continued to practice art until enrolling in college. Though her friends & counselor advised her that she should pursue her passion & natural talent in painting, she originally majored in psychology. Ultimately, Ms. Baker’s true calling gained predominance, & she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Baylor Univ. in Waco, TX, in 1964. Between obtaining an undergrad. degree & a Master of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, in 1981, Ms. Baker traveled the world, studying & exhibiting her work in Florence, Italy, & across the United States. In 1977, she was named as a visiting artist to the Republic of South Korea on behalf of the United States Information Services. During her 9 months abroad, Ms. Baker directed fine arts workshops & mounted a major exhibition of her own artwork. Ms. Baker’s prolific career has led to dozens of exhibitions of her work, including 1-woman shows, permanent installations, & participation in group exhibitions. Her work has been shown continuously throughout the U. S. since 1969. In addition to her acclaim as an artist, Ms. Baker has also found success in teaching, serving as an adjunct professor at the Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville, the Univ. of Southern Indiana, & as a visiting professor at the Univ. of Evansville in Evansville, IN. Furthermore, Ms. Baker is a member of the National Artists Equity Association, for which she held the posts of the Reg. Vice Pres. on the National Bd. of AE in Washington, D.C. from 1985 to 1995 & was pres. of the Los Angeles Chapter for 4 years, until 1995. She is additionally associated with the Women’s Caucus for Art, the College Arts Association (CAA), & the New York Artists Equity Assoc. Ms. Baker has authored numerous articles, & her written work has extended into personal publications, such as My Turn, a novel, & Poems of Accord & Satisfaction, a collection of Poetry. In addition, she authored the Elba Journal, a short travel journal that includes a mystery. She currently performs the roles of an artist & the sole proprietor of her eponymous studio, Jill Baker Artist’s Studio, creating a variety of work, spanning illustrations & freelance work to her lauded paintings. Ms. Baker also continues to exhibit her art & manages Winchester Cottage Print, a business she established in 1997. Jill, & her partner & previous guest Lee Pennington reside in Middletown, KY.