“In Kentucky there’s a particular bent toward hospitality,” says Ouita Michel, co-owner with husband Chris of longtime Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner Holly Hill Inn and other restaurants in and near Midway, Kentucky. “I definitely felt that growing up here; there’s a certain kind of welcome. For us, what we’re trying to do is to create intergenerational gathering spaces—spaces where grandparents and grandchildren and parents and all different kinds of family members can come together and have common ground for conversation and connection.”
The menu the Michels put together showcases classic must-have horse-country dishes plus some modern twists, each married to an updated cocktail celebrating the state’s greatest export. Most importantly, nearly all the work is done in advance, so the chef can meet and greet for a change.
Ouita has deep roots in the region, while Chris is originally from Long Island, New York. Both pursued careers in hospitality. As Ouita says, “Our mutual bio is we met on the first day of school at the Culinary Institute of America in 1989. We went all the way through school together and we had a culinary romance. Chris proposed to me in a vineyard. What was the name of that?” she asks. “Glenora vineyard in the Finger Lakes,” Chris answers. She continues: “We went back there recently with our daughter and reenacted it. I said ‘yes’ again. My husband is cheesy. He’s a hambone.” Chris replies, “We love ham and cheese.”
After school they worked in New York while planning their wedding, but Ouita returned to Kentucky, and then Chris joined her. “We got a little apartment, but we were still planning on going back to New York,” she recalls. “But, you know, one thing led to another. We got jobs; we found friends. It was nice to be around family, and Lexington felt super accessible and easy. We figured if we wanted to open a restaurant, it would be a damn sight easier to do it here.”
They opened Holly Hill Inn in 2001. The building dates to 1845. It feels like a country home: lived in but grand, with great bones and a lot of character, some inherited and some added by the Michels over the years. As they outgrew the space, the offsite bakery they opened to supply the restaurant morphed into a retail food venue; friends and customers would mention available spaces that were too good to pass up. They now have seven establishments in the region plus an events department. Each is unique and has a story—a reason for existing. Likewise, each dish is as rooted in the place as the staff, the vast majority of whom are locals. The Michels tend to hire young, and they are dedicated to equitable treatment and creating opportunity.
“I think all of our general managers are women now,” Chris says. Tyler McNabb started in the kitchen when he was 19; he’s now 32 and the culinary director for the entire group. General manager Jackie Anthony has been at Holly Hill since 2010.
The menu served in the rambling rooms at Holly Hill changes regularly but always leads with local produce; the Michels have worked hard with local farmers to mutual benefit. A recent menu by chef de cuisine Hannah Arvin delivered Catalan and Creole flavors, and others range just as broadly. There is a kind of natural comfort to the dishes, but each has a slight twist too, a deft chef-y touch.
Chris’ wine list is similarly approachable and inclusive. It includes a wealth of affordable bottles but also has a good selection of blue-chip wines as well as some surprises. He serves flights and pairings to the menu and often has bottles that don’t appear on the list. “I try to have a variety of stuff that is going to appeal to different consumers,” he says. “But I always like to have a list with a lot of breadth to it. So there’s a little bit of something from everywhere.
Once again, there is a story and often a personal connection behind every selection. “The Graham Beck is a nice local connection,” he explains. “Mr. [Antony] Beck, who has Graham Beck wines—his father started the winery, but he owns [thoroughbred breeder] Gainesway Farm, and he is our landlord at Windy Corner. So that’s a fun story to tell, and I think the wine is great. Part of our philosophy of wine here is that we want to be reasonable and in reach, and offer something people could enjoy at home too. And I like to give people stuff that maybe they haven’t tried.”
They also typically have over a hundred Bourbons on offer and a cocktail list that echoes the classic-with-a-twist ethos. The Honeywood cocktail is named after a woman who lived in the house before it was Holly Hill. Ouita explains: “It was named for Honeywood Parrish Rouse, who was hilarious and who grew up at Holly Hill and drank Bourbon every single day at 4 o’clock come hell or come high water.”
The challenges of a Bourbon dinner are mainly the high alcohol content and bold flavor. Chris mitigates the former by emphasizing nonalcoholic mixers in the drinks and the latter by folding in food-friendly flavors to build a bridge rather than start a fight. But make no mistake: Holidays in Kentucky mean Bourbon. “It just adds conviviality and the overall sense of fun to have these different little drinks that you’re making for people,” Ouita says. “It’s a fun way for everyone to participate as well, not just the cook. Somebody can be a mixologist for the evening. It gives everybody a role.”
The Michels set a big table as their personal and professional ethics overlap heavily. Ouita says, “Joy and happiness are very important in our lives, and everything that we can do to promote that with people and our close friends and family members—to let them know that they’re our priority in our life. That is the thing I love about entertaining. You can keep it simple, and we do, but it expresses your love and your care and your concern for your friends. It makes people feel important, makes them feel treasured.”
Ouita and Michel’s full holiday table menu can be found here, as well as tips for pairing neat Bourbon with food.
