26 minute read
LET’S COOK
Phil Dunn prepares a multi-course meal in his home kitchen.
Phil Dunn ever invites you to dinner, cancel any plans you might have and go. You won’t regret it. At a recent dinner party he hosted, the Lexington food impresario displayed his passionate love for travel, conversation, and, above all, culinary art.
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Appetizers represented both modern American cuisine (olive cheese pufs) and classic Greek dishes (tiropita, similar to spanakopita but without the spinach). Next up was Crab Demos, a crab and wild rice concoction with Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and mayonnaise, courtesy of time spent with Stanley Demos at Te Coach House.
Te entree stop was Italy with chicken piccata and a fettuccine Alfredo so moist and buttery it would make Romans, Venetians, and Florentines break into a chorus of “magnifcos.” To end the meal, he came full circle back to the U.S. with a creamy New York cheesecake topped with a grand chocolate sauce.
It was an amazing meal from a man who has altered his path several times over.
Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once bitterly noted, “Tere are no second acts in American lives.” Fitzgerald never knew Phil Dunn.
Dunn is well past his second act, having fnished a third and is now into his fourth. How many 74-year-olds can claim they have owned a restaurant, a catering company, and a bakery; taught cooking classes; been a chef-in-residence at luxury destinations across Europe; and even dabbled in real estate? About the last, Dunn said, “I didn’t take long to realize this was not who Phil Dunn was.”
At an age when most are content to see the curtain drop on the fnal act of their professional lives, Dunn is still frmly
If planted on the Lexington stage as he has been for the past 50 years. Although he no longer caters, Dunn teaches the occasional cooking class to enthusiastic participants.
Dunn graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1970, armed with a degree in geography. Now before you start asking what was he thinking, he did have a plan, or at least a dream, for using his degree. “I wanted to work for the National Geographic Society,” he recalled. “When I was 11 years old, my parents gifed me with a life membership in the National Geographic Society.”
It didn’t quite turn out as the 20-something Dunn planned, but
Caterer, baker, restaurant owner, teacher, and chef-in-residence — Phil Dunn has had an adventuresome work life.
©The Malicotes Photography
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National Geographic’s loss was Alpha Chi Omega sorority’s gain.
“My frst culinary job was as a breakfast cook at the sorority house,” he said with a chuckle.
A male cook in an all-female household may have made a good sitcom plot, but Dunn had other plans. An ROTC cadet in college, he was fulflling his Army duty when he had an epiphany. “Tat was when I frst knew I wanted to make the culinary arts my life’s work,” Dunn said.
He also knew he wanted to begin his life’s work, like so many other aspiring young chefs, in Europe. But unlike most of them, he headed not to Paris but to Vienna afer college. His geography lessons had taught him that Austrian Empress Maria Teresa, a member of the powerful Hapsburg dynasty, had been responsible for many of the continent’s culinary trends. By marrying of her brood of 16 to the crowned heads of Europe, she spread Austria’s infuence beyond its borders — including its culinary infuence.
“Trough her children, Maria Teresa introduced Danishes to the Danish and croissants to the French,” said Dunn, adding that, “both of those originated in Austria.”
He enrolled in a Viennese cooking school and immediately encountered his frst pitfall.
“All of my fellow students were about 12 years old,” he said with a laugh. “I hadn’t considered how early they began their training in Europe.”
Realizing there would be no collegial evenings spent hoisting tankards of ale with his fellow students, he dropped out of the class and took a job in
As chicken for the piccata cooks, Dunn sautees cherry tomatoes, top; then seasons green beans, center; and next adds Parmesan cheese to the Alfredo sauce, below.
Let’s cook!
the kitchen at the Parkhotel Schönbrunn, a watershed experience for the fedgling chef.
“I learned so much from the staf there,” he said. “One taught me to make Austrian dishes such as goulash and stroganof; a second taught me the correct way to sharpen knives, while a third taught me perhaps the most important thing I’ve ever learned: how to prep.
“He taught me what can be done on the spot and what has to be done in advance,” he continued. “It is a lesson that has stood me in good stead throughout my entire career.”
When he was not toiling in the kitchen at the hotel, he was cooking up meals for the Austrian family he was living with. Te kids especially were crazy about American food, he recalled. “While I was eating wonderful Wiener schnitzel and dumplings, they were demanding fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits.”
From his European experience, it was a natural progression to the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York, where his classmates were most assuredly not 12 years old.
“I was in class with people who went on to become top chefs at restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago,” he said. “It was a wonderful experience.”
A legend in the making
Tere is nothing like starting at the top, and that’s just what Dunn did when he returned to Lexington in 1975. A newly minted culinary professional, armed with a degree from the CIA, he became chef at what was then the city’s premier restaurant, Stanley Demos’ Te Coach House.
Dunn credits Demos for much of what he’s done in his own career.
“It’s kind of funny for a chef to say that because Stanley didn’t cook,” Dunn said. “He was a front of the house guy, and there was nobody better at that than he was.”
From Demos, Dunn said he learned “How to run a restaurant, how to manage a restaurant, how to buy the best ingredients, how to hire the best team — basically everything involved in having a successful restaurant.
“He was my inspiration for what I did when I opened Phil Dunn’s Cookshop,” said Dunn.
Although Demos served as an inspiration, Dunn tweaked many recipes to create his own memorable dishes.
An elegant table setting awaits Dunn’s delicious dinner.
—Phil Dunn
Let’s cook!
“I think two of my most successful were Chicken Cordon Bleugrass, where the chicken breast was stufed with blue cheese, and my grilled cheese sandwich, which used my own baked bread, Sturminster — an English cheddar with chives — and slices of tomato and zucchini.
“Te customers loved it,” he said.
Phil Dunn’s Cookshop, which combined a restaurant, bakery, and cooking classes on Old Vine Street, had a decade-long run. During that time he also operated a catering company he had started eight years before
Top, Dunn adds garnishments to the chicken piccata. Left, next come the beans, followed by the fettuccine Alfredo, below. Bottom left, the fnished plate is ready to serve.
opening the restaurant and through which he frequently catered as many as eight events a day.
Te main lesson he had learned from Demos — always to strive for consistent quality — made him a success in both businesses.
When it came to catering, every Lexington host and hostess had him on speed dial.
“I don’t think I ever had a luncheon or dinner party when I didn’t call Phil,” said Joan Gaines, widow of horseman John Gaines, who frst met Dunn when he was still at Te Coach House. “I knew I could always count on Phil to make me look good.”
Linda Roach, who helped her late husband, Dr. Ben Roach, raise funds for the Markey Cancer Center, talks about Dunn’s help in the couple’s fundraising eforts. “I always knew Phil would give the same attention to detail whether we were planning the Celebration Ball for hundreds or a small donor luncheon for fve,” she said.
“But as serious as Phil was about his food and the presentation, there was always laughter coming from his kitchen,” she added.
It wasn’t just Lexington’s elite who came to rely on him. Dunn has catered for some of the world’s most famous and celebrated people.
He cooked lunch for both Queen Elizabeth II and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor within a two-week period. He cooked for George H. W. Bush when he was vice president and Anthony Kennedy when he was a Supreme Court justice.
He catered the 30th birthday party for Saturday Night Live’s Ana Gasteyer and bonded with Princess Michael of Kent, a guest at a dinner he catered at Overbrook Farm.
Let’s cook!
Dunn’s current act
“She is Austrian, so we got along famously,” he said.
From the Maktoums, the royal family of Dubai, to actress Anne Hathaway to TV anchor Diane Sawyer and her husband, director Mike Nichols, Dunn has fed them all.
Still, his own celebrity hasn’t gone to his head. One of his greatest pleasures, other than baking breads and pastries, which he says he prefers over anything else he’s done as a chef, is mentoring other up-andcoming chefs and food executives.
One of those mentees is Brad Mitchell, who was part of the team during Dunn’s temporary tenure as executive chef at the Governor’s Mansion during Ernie Fletcher’s administration.
Mitchell apparently went to the head of the class, as he currently serves as executive chef for Gov. Andy Beshear.
“I went to work for Phil at his catering business right out of culinary school,” said Mitchell. “Over the next 12 years he taught me everything I know about catering, from event planning to execution.”
Tey were lessons well learned, as Mitchell served the commonwealth under four governors.
“Of all the chef instructors and chef employers I’ve had the pleasure of working with, Phil had the most infuence,” said Mitchell. “He also became a close friend to my family and even made the cakes for both of my sons’ weddings.”
Dunn says he tries to stay in touch with many of his protegees, claiming “I really enjoy following their career arcs.”
Having served as a mentor to so many young chefs, is there one now that he hasn’t worked with, but would like to?
“Cameron Roszkowski, the chef at Te Apiary,” he said without hesitation.
“I really admire him and keep track of his career,” said Dunn.
“Following his education, he took a year of to travel the world and learn the diferent food cultures. “Tat dedication has really shown in his work at Te Inn at Blackberry Farm, Heirloom, and now Te Apiary.” At 74, having survived two bouts of cancer and with an illustrious career that has earned him international acclaim, you would think Dunn would be content to rest on his laurels, and you would be wrong. For the past 15 years he has been working with Florida-based Falcon Travel, serving as a chef-in-residence for many of their private European tours. At the time of this interview, he had just returned from two weeks in Scotland and had just another two weeks to prep for a trip to Tuscany. So, how did he get this glamorous job? “It was quite a coincidence,” he said. “Te manager of the company in Winter Haven turned out to be the daughter of my former Sigma Nu fraternity housemother.” Tat serendipitous connection led to his doing two to four trips a year, with the Scotland and Tuscany trips bringing him full circle. “My frst trip was to Scotland, Ireland, and New York cheesecake gets a swirl England, and Tuscany has been my most freof grand chocolate sauce. quent destination,” he said. He also had the chance to go back to where it all started — Austria — and he hopes for a future jaunt to Provence, which he claims “has the best food in France.” As testament to the respect and afection he has garnered in his home state, Dunn said that about half of the usual 12-15 people who make up the groups are from Kentucky. When asked what a typical day is like on these trips, Dunn said, “I cook them a full breakfast every morning, and while they are out sightseeing during the day, I am canvassing the farmer’s markets for the freshest ingredients. “I cook a gourmet meal every night and I usually try to squeeze in a cooking class if they have a free day.” So will this be Phil Dunn’s last act? He laughed and then answered, “Probably. I just wish I had discovered this 50 years ago.” A legion of Lexington fans are glad he didn’t. KM
Amplify president and co-founder Annise Montplaisir gives Keeneland College Scholarship Day participants a tour of the paddock.
AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
ric Resendiz was frst in line
Ewhen Amplify Horse Racing kicked of its mentorship program in August 2021. Te Bluegrass Community & Technical College student was paired with Ben Henley, general manager of Airdrie Stud. Henley showed Resendiz the farm’s operations and took him along to the Keeneland September yearling sale for a close-up look at the home of the world’s largest Toroughbred yearling auction.
Amplify Horse Racing is a nonproft organization dedicated to introducing youth and young adults primarily in the 15–25 age group to the myriad possibilities for becoming involved in the Toroughbred industry. Resendiz is taking full advantage of its resources as he contemplates a career in the racing business.
His education continued last summer when Resendiz journeyed to Saratoga Springs, New York, for a behind-the-scenes tour of Saratoga Race Course conducted by Annise Montplaisir, president and co-founder of Amplify. He met with trainers and veterinarians and saw the backside operations of a racetrack, which ft in with his goal of working on the training side of the business. Te tour was hosted by Amplify with collaboration from the New York Toroughbred Horsemen’s Association, New York Racing Association, and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, which is located in Saratoga Springs.
“It’s been a cool experience getting all of those insights,” said Resendiz, who is pursuing an associate degree in equine studies. “With my mentorship I’ve been able to network and get my foot in the door a little bit. It’s been a great experience with Amplify.”
Off to a flying start
Te pairing of Resendiz and Henley is one of many success stories in the young life of Amplify Horse Racing. Te organization is an outgrowth of a business plan Montplaisir submitted as the fnal requirement of her studies with Godolphin Flying Start, a two-year
Eric Resendiz has taken full advantage of Amplify’s resources as he contemplates a career in horse racing. management and leadership training program in the international Toroughbred racing and breeding industry. Her friend and co-founder Madison Scott now serves on the Amplify board of directors. “Te Toroughbred industry, as opposed to industries comprising other breeds, did not have a frst-step educational platform on the national level, singularly focused on getting youth and young adults involved in racing,” Montplaisir said. “Great work has been done in that regard on a state level or by specifc programs, and Amplify intends to collaborate with and help to grow those existing initiatives.” Montplaisir brings a rich and varied background to her role as
AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
Amplify’s leader. At age 12 she was a volunteer racetrack ambassador at North Dakota Horse Park in her hometown of Fargo. She later saddled up and ponied horses to the starting gate, then became director of communications at age 19. She also completed an internship at the American Quarter Horse Association. Afer graduating from North Dakota State University in 2017, she moved to Lexington, where she completed internships with Fasig-Tipton, Keeneland, and Mill Ridge Farm before her Godolphin education.
Montplaisir created Amplify in 2019. She then worked as the equine education coordinator for the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), which folded her Amplify work into her job description. Tat allowed the foundation to serve as an incubator for her to continue developing Amplify on the national level.
Clockwise from top, Montplaisir greets young race-goers at the Amplify Horse Racing booth at Keeneland on College Scholarship Day Presented by Lane’s End. She shows Mohammad Alkhirat how to read the odds in the racing program. Montplaisir and her tour group visit the winner’s circle and present the Best Turned Out Award after a race.
AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
Top, LaTonna Wilson talks about equine veterinary medicine during an Amplify Horse Racing tour at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. Above, participants watch an operation as they visit different parts of the hospital.
In fulflling its mission, the organization aims to amplify and expand on both the existing educational programs in the industry, such as Keeneland’s College Scholarship Day Presented by Lane’s End, as well as new resources of its own, including mentorships, an Equine Careers Tour Series, and podcasts.
Horse Racing Hangouts are virtual learning sessions streamed live to Amplify social media platforms and have featured subjects such as farm administration, exercise riding, and yearling sales prep. Participants can ask questions of industry professionals, who explain their careers and the fundamentals of the horse racing business.
Beginning in January 2023, Montplaisir will devote all her energies to Amplify while KEEP continues to be an industry partner. Amplify also functions as the U.S. afliate of Together for Racing International, a global initiative to promote the Toroughbred industry.
The Keeneland connection
A key factor in Amplify’s fast start out of the gate is its rewarding collaboration with Keeneland and the many educational programs the racetrack already had in place before Amplify came along to bolster those eforts.
“We believe our company’s mission is to build the next generation of fans for our sport,” said Kara Heissenbuttel, Keeneland’s senior director of operations and community relations. “Keeneland and Amplify have become wonderful partners in this efort. We have a series of programs throughout the year to reach diferent age groups, and Amplify has helped us fll in some gaps and take them a step further.”
An excellent example of those eforts is the presence of Amplify during Keeneland’s College Scholarship Day Presented by Lane’s End. Tis event, supported by the Kentucky Toroughbred Association, ofers students free admission for one racing day and a chance to win valuable scholarships while also seeing racing in terms of career possibilities.
Amplify has a booth at the event and adds to the students’ activities by coordinating tours through the paddock to see riders get a leg up, then out to the winner’s circle for the owner’s experience. Discussions about career opportunities and an introduction to the Amplify mentorship program are also ofered.
Tat’s where Resendiz comes in as a Keeneland College Ambassador, an academic-yearlong program that lets students assist with special events and learn about marketing, promotions, guest services, and other areas of operations. “We collaborate with Amplify on the tours that day and help promote the Keeneland brand,” he said.
“Keeneland doesn’t have the staf and bandwidth to do all of those things,” Heissenbuttel said, “but we can provide the platform for Amplify to come in and be an additional resource to take the experience to the next level.”
Amplify is also involved during the Keeneland Kids Club Family Day Presented by Kentucky Children’s Hospital events in the spring and fall for the program for children ages 12 and under.
AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
ABOUT AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
Amplify Horse Racing is a 501(c)(3) nonproft funded by donations and grants. For more information visit amplifyhorseracing.org
Timothy Littau channels the broadcast journalist he hopes to become while posing in front of a video he created at Saratoga Springs during an internship on the Saratoga Special. “Amplify may be there with tack so the kids can touch and feel some of the materials the horse and jockey use,” Heissenbuttel said, thereby bolstering the educational value of those events. An Equipony, a mechanical device that simulates what a jockey feels aboard the horse, is another attraction that Amplify makes available for the children.
ISABEL BONEBREAK PHOTO
The next Bob Costas?
Becoming a jockey, trainer, or an owner might be among the frst occupations that come to mind when considering how Amplify could help someone get started in the business. Te organization’s umbrella, however, covers much more than that.
“When someone thinks about the Toroughbred industry, they think primarily of horse racing,” Montplaisir said. “Tey don’t immediately think of all the jobs associated with that. Tere is work everywhere in the industry that may involve insurance, sales, transportation, veterinary care, afercare for retired racehorses, ofciating, and more.”
She could include journalism in that list, which would encompass the career aspirations of Timothy Littau, a senior majoring in that discipline at Marquette University. “My goal is to be an on-air broadcast journalist covering Toroughbred racing,” said Littau, who is executive news producer at his campus television station and podcasts creator for Amplify. “I have a lot of passion for the sport and want to instill that in new fans and deepen that feeling in existing fans.” For inspiration he has studied videos of racing broadcast luminaries such as Bob Costas, who covered the Kentucky Derby for NBC for nearly two decades. A bit uncertain about whether Amplify would support his interest in journalism, Littau was pleased when his mentorship application was gladly accepted. He was paired with Tom Law, editor of the Saratoga Special, a twice-weekly newspaper covering racing at Saratoga Race Course. Montplaisir also spent a summer working for the Special.
Law was so impressed with Littau that he ofered him a
Rancho San Miguel offce manager Holly Brown, right, continues to beneft from her professional relationship with Jordyn Egan, above, who mentored her.
KATIE JONES PHOTO
AMPLIFY HORSE RACING
summer internship on the paper. While there, Littau had the opportunity to join Law in a presentation titled “Amplifying the Future of Racing,” where they spoke of the value of their mentorship. Te event was co-hosted by Amplify and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
“Without Amplify, the mentorship with Tom Law and then interning on the newspaper would not have been possible,” Littau said. “And I certainly could never have imagined myself speaking at the Racing Hall of Fame at age 21. It’s been a phenomenal experience.”
Confirming a choice
Holly Brown had already taken a big frst step into the Toroughbred industry when a mentorship with Amplify allowed her to validate her career choice and open the door to a wider view of the business.
Brown is ofce manager at Rancho San Miguel, a large Toroughbred breeding and sales prep operation in Central California. Trough her Amplify connection she found a mentor who has become an important source of support and guidance for
her budding career in the racing business. “I had traveled around for several years hold-‘‘ WITH MY MENTORSHIP I’VE BEEN ABLE TO NETWORK ing various jobs, even working with wild burros in Texas, and had little bits of exposure to Toroughbreds along the way,” she said. “Ten the job opening here at Rancho San Miguel was paired at about the same time with my Amplify mentorship. It all drew something out in me to want to be with racehorses.” AND GET MY FOOT For her mentorship Brown was paired with Jordyn Egan, executive director of the Califor-
IN THE DOOR nia Toroughbred Owners Association and
A LITTLE BIT.” an Amplify board member. Egan has brought industry connections and encouragement to Brown as the two enjoy an ongoing professional
— ERIC RESENDIZ
relationship that has continued far beyond the three-month formal mentorship period. “I found my passion in this industry on the business end of things, understanding what makes it work,” Egan said. “Holly has that same analytical, business mind-set and has worked to improve the processes of the farm where she works. I’ve encouraged her to seek out connections and work hard.” Brown drew inspiration from hearing Egan describe her rise
Whitney Fields, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital staff member, welcomes the Breeze family to an Amplify Equine Careers Tour of the facility. Margaret (far left) and Troy (far right) are pictured with their children (from left), Julia, Megan, Marshall, Thomas, and Trevor. They have created their own Thoroughbred operation using Amplify resources.
ALL IN THE FAMILY ALL IN THE FAMILY ALL IN THE FAMILY
If horse racing could be compared to a game of poker, the Breeze family of Tollesboro, Kentucky, has gone all in.
Margaret and Troy Breeze, along with their fve offspring, have used the expertise gained from attending all of the Equine Careers Tour Series events offered by Amplify Horse Racing as a basis for creating their own family Thoroughbred breeding, training, and racing operation literally from scratch.
“We have a neighbor who has racehorses and we started helping out there,” said Thomas, oldest son in the family. “We then discovered Amplify and it’s taken off from there.”
The Amplify career tours put participants in direct contact with industry professionals
in the business that began afer graduation in 2004 from the University of Arizona, where she earned a Bachelor of Science from the Race Track Industry Program. Said Brown: “I really didn’t know if I was in the right job until Jordyn told me about her past. She helped me see a bigger picture of the industry and how many women were involved, all the opportunities for growth. Tat helped solidify my choice.”
She’s just getting started
Montplaisir has big plans in mind for Amplify as its profle and infuence begin to spread across the nation and even into Canada for the mentorship program.
“Our goal is to work with a variety of states and racing jurisdictions to promote existing programs, then create initiatives of our own that fll in the gaps,” she said. “We’ve piloted a lot of things in Kentucky. Te work we’ve done with Keeneland, especially, has helped us develop a framework for how we want to work with tracks across the country.”
Supporting the coming generations of career professionals in the business while creating new fans of racing underlines Amplify’s all-encompassing tagline: “Toroughbred racing is not just a sport of kings … it is a sport for everyone.” KM
Montplaisir says Amplify has developed a framework that will help it work with tracks across the country.
in areas such as breeding, foaling, managing and marketing stallions, and veterinary medicine. The tours have proved invaluable to the Breeze family in building their business, down to the detail of selecting a horse van to purchase, which was informed by a visit to Sallee Horse Vans. The friend who owns racehorses played a key role in getting the family fully into the industry.
“He was very helpful in teaching us about the business,” Margaret said. “He took us to Belterra Park in Cincinnati and introduced us to his trainer. He suggested we purchase a horse in a claiming race.”
That horse is Keen Mind, who came home a winner in his frst outing under the Breeze family banner, a $12,500 maiden claiming race at a mile-and-a-sixteenth at Belterra. The family has since added a stallion and mare to their brood.
The racing bug has bitten Thomas so much that he has decided not to pursue the video game programming career that his college studies at Shawnee State University would prepare him for, but instead plunge into the high-stakes world of Thoroughbred racing.
He’s joined there by his parents and siblings, all of whom take part in the family business to some degree. The children are homeschooled, which means the business can be incorporated into their school day. Daily chores include mucking out the stables and helping at three neighboring horse farms with more than 20 horses stabled.
“We have a large family, each with varying interests and skills,” Margaret said. “Amplify has shown us that we can build a family business around the great sport of horse racing where each of us can contribute in a unique, meaningful way.”
