Steven LaBarge, Head Chef, photo coming soon!
Steven LaBarge has cooked in Lexington restaurants since he was just a teenager, and always wanted to work with Chef Ouita Michel. So when Honeywood opened in The Summit at Fritz Farm, he scanned job openings for months, hoping to find a position.
“I’d been trying to get on with Chef Ouita for years. She’s my favorite local chef. And finally, a couple of years ago, there was an opening for sous chef at Honeywood. I applied immediately and Chef Tyler (McNabb) called half an hour later.”
That was back in July 2022. Today, he’s Head Chef Steve LaBarge, running the Honeywood kitchen.
Chef Steve grew up in Lexington; his mother was from Knott County. “We grew up eating Southern food – beans and cornbread.” Chef Steve was a latchkey kid and fixed a lot of his own meals, but he loved cooking with his Grandma Ruth. “While we always cooked breakfast together, my favorite thing to make was spaghetti.”
“I was interested in food and Grandma started teaching me. I loved learning about different foods and flavors and how each cuisine has a different way of doing things. I like Southern and Italian the best. I could eat pasta everyday.”
Southern and Italian – that might explain why Chef Steve’s favorite dish on Honeywood’s menu is the rabbit gnocchi. Or why he likes to work the grill, and to smoke meats.
Chef Steve and his girlfriend Mari live in a neighborhood not too far from Honeywood, and hosted their first family Thanksgiving last year. When he’s not feeding others, he likes to relax working in the garden or catching a new comedy show.
When pressed to share a fun fact about himself, Chef Steve demurred. “No claims to fame, really.” So we’re going to help make him famous – for carrying on our love of Kentucky farmers. And for creating beautiful and delicious food that our namesake, Honeywood Parrish Rouse, would have proudly served at her own table.