Chef Jim Gerhardt brings 20 years of award-winning experience in fine dining to Limestone Restaurant. An Ohio native, Gerhardt has worked in and directed some highly regarded restaurants. The last 15 years of his career have been in Kentucky, to which he brought a national reputation and continued to build on it. Chef Gerhardt began his training at Ohio State University with courses in business and restaurant management, followed by a degree from the Culinary Institute of America. With his formal schooling completed, he set his sights high and quickly landed an apprenticeship at The Maisonette in Cincinnati before moving to Dallas and The Mansion on Turtle Creek. In Dallas, Jim moved into a sous chef position at the Four Seasons Hotel, before joining Wyndham Hotels where he achieved the coveted executive chef toque. Chef Jim took over the kitchens at The Stouffer Grand Resort of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in 1989 and discovered the exotic ingredients of the Caribbean. There, he had the opportunity to restore two kitchens at the hotel and to create a culinary development program for the local islanders. And, during hurricane Hugo, Chef Jim cared for and fed breakfast, lunch and dinner to 600 stranded travelers. With a promotion to Food and Beverage Director, and under his leadership, the hotel received the coveted Gold Key Award in banquet and catering from Meetings & Conventions magazine. After the Caribbean, Jim returned to the mainland and was discovered in Houston by Medallion Hotels. Excited by the opportunity to return to his midwest roots in 1995, he accepted their offer to move to Louisville and lead The Seelbach Hilton's kitchens into a new century. Leaving the hotel for "an opportunity to good to refuse" in 2003, he opened the Limestone restaurant. Chef Gerhardt was honored to be included in the James Beard Foundation’s Great Hotel Chefs of America in 1998. Four years later, theOakroom was named one of the nation’s “50 Best Hotel Restaurants” by Food & Wine magazine. Gerhardt has been a guest chef at the James Beard House three times and was invited to cook at the Utah Winter Olympics as a James Beard Foundation chef. In 2002, he was nominated for a James Beard Award as “Best Chef in the Southeast.” In 2008 he was selected to be the guest chef at The Great Chefs’ Dinner sponsored by The Family Tree, in Baltimore, joining the ranks of luminaries such as Georges Perrier, Jean-Louis Palladin, and Larry Forgione. In October 2008 he was the guest chef aboard a Holland America cruise for which one of the hosts will be best selling author Sue Grafton. A member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, Gerhardt has served as a spokesperson for the National Pork Producers Council and the American Dairy Management. His extensive television experience includes work on the Food Network, Travel Channel, History Channel, the Louisville CBS affiliate, and “Secrets of Louisville Chefs”. He also has been featured in Southern Living, Food & Wine, and Southwest Spirits magazines. In addition, Chefs Gerhardt has received coverage in Wine Spectator, The Courier-Journal, and numerous Louisville and regional publications. Gerhardt's commitment for serving foods from and promoting regional fare blossomed at The Oakroom. At The Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, executive chef Gerhardt transformed the menu from run-of-the-mill hotel fare to contemporary Kentucky cuisine. Under his watch the Seelbach’s Oakroom restaurant received an AAA Five Diamond award, the first and only in the entire state. At Limestone, Gerhardt has taken the commitment to all things Kentucky one step further. He makes a point of incorporating local products into just about every dish, from the sour mash bourbon bread (made with the grains that are left over after bourbon has been distilled), to the grits that are ground at a central Kentucky mill, to the cheese made from the milk of Kentucky Holsteins. Even the restaurant’s name, Limestone, is an homage to the state: Kentucky is built on a thick layer of the rock, which filters water and imparts a pure, well, Kentucky flavor to everything it touches. "New Southern Cooking, Old Southern Charm" is how chef/owner Jim Gerhardt define the soulful cooking at Limestone. Fried Green Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic Andi, Braised Beef Shortribs with Smoky White Beans, Collard Greens and Buttermilk Cornbread, and Sour Mash Biscuits with Bourbon Marinated Berries are complimented by a world class Bourbon collection and international wine selection amidst the worn elegance of restaurant's Colonial earth tones. Limestone Restaurant, 10001 Forest Green Blvd., off North Hurstbourne Parkway www.limestonerestaurant.com • (502) 426-7477 Hours of Operation: Lunch: M-F: 11 am - 2 pm; Dinner: M-T: 5 pm - 10 pm, Friday and Saturday: 5 pm - 10:30 pm; Sunday Brunch: 10 am - 2 pm; Happy Hour: Monday - Friday: 4 pm - 7 pm