ICCA Culinary Immersions have become the most popular annual events due to the exclusive number of attendees making it perfect for networking and enhances the opportunity to experience restaurants and meet the chefs who are driving new menu development in the nation’s top culinary destinations. If you were to create this event for your company it would cost tens of thousands of dollars. For ICCA members the only cost is your airfare or transportation to the host hotel, The Historic Brown Hotel in Louisville. The dates were changed due to COVID-19, but the timing could not be better. The Kentucky Derby is on May 1, 2021 and the two weeks prior to the event include major events and celebratory activities leading up to the largest regional event of the year. We will experience the southern hospitality Louisville is know for globally.
Louisville has become legendary for creative southern-influenced cuisine. Chef Edward Lee, is a Brooklyn-born chef and restaurateur has made numerous television appearances on shows including The Mind of a Chef on PBS and as a contestant on the ninth season of Top Chef. He is a four-time James Beard Award nominee and currently owns four restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky It was on a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2001 that he fell in love with Louisville and Southern cooking. He moved to the city in 2002 and began working at 610 Magnolia with former chef/owner Eddie Garber. Lee now owns 610 Magnolia along with three other restaurants; Whiskey Dry in Louisville, and two locations of Succotash, in Washington, D.C. and National Harbor. Plan to arrive early on Wednesday, November 10th to dine at 610 Magnolia and meet Chef Lee as he talks with us about his career and the local culinary scene in Kentucky. The other main events are on Thursday and Friday so plan your return airfare for any time on Saturday.
Downtown Louisville has attracted numerous award winning chefs since Chef Lee created his empire there. Distilleries have also opened throughout the city now, plus we will visit Lexington’s Legendary distilleries including Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Angel’s Envy, Makers Mark and Four Roses. Our culinary road trip will visit some of these famous properties and meet the crasftsmen behind the award winning bourbons. We are calling the our “ICCA Bourbon Tour.”
As an ICCA member, all costs for the event including your room nights at the historic Brown Hotel are complimentary. In the 1920’s, The Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. By the wee hours of the morning, guests would grow weary of dancing and make their way to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Sensing their desire for something more glamorous than traditional ham and eggs, Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests’ palates. His unique dish? An open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce. The Hot Brown was born!
Remember only the fist 15 ICCA members who rsvp for the event will be able to experience this amazing educational program. To register for the ICCA Culinary Immersion Louisville/Lexington, just email rsvp@ICCAchefs.com. Again, the only cost for ICCA members is your transportation to the host hotel. All other costs are paid for by our generous sponsors. We look forward to seeing you in Kentucky this November.