Let me warn you right now that this is going to be a long and photo heavy post, but it is full of awesome Kentucky made products so it is so worth reading until the end. Last Saturday, C & I travelled to Lexington, Kentucky for the 5th annual Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show. This is the first time that we have gotten to attend, but hopefully it will not be the last. I really had no idea that so many food products were produced right here in the Commonwealth and we couldn’t taste test and buy every one of them, but I wanted to let you know about a few of our favorites.
We started out the day by watching a demonstration by the headliners of the show, Jamie and Bobby Deen. They were so funny and entertaining and the time flew right by while we were watching them. Jamie was throwing candy out to the audience during the show while they were cooking.
The Marketplace was almost overwhelming. There were so many booths and so many people that I really had to focus in and get my bearings to navigate. C & I looked at most of the booths and tried a few samples.
There were some beautiful handmade wooden kitchen items for sale as well.
Of course, with my sweet tooth, I was loving the bakery and candy store displays! The first photo is the Midway College Bakery booth.
Can you believe all of this is produced right here in little ol’ Kentucky? It really took my breath away and these photos don’t show half of what was there. Now, let’s get to the goodies we actually got to try and purchase. Yum!
One of the first items we tried was flavored popcorn from A-maize-ing Caramel Corn, which is produced in Georgetown, Kentucky. We tried (and bought) the caramel and cheddar versions and they were so good!
Macarons have been the hot sweet in the blogging world for a little while now, but I haven’t taken the time to try them because they are hard to make. Actually, I had never gotten the chance to even taste one until Saturday.
La Petite Sucre out of Winchester, KY, had the prettiest display of macarons in many flavors for sale. I decided to try a salted caramel one and it was tasty, but it was not what I expected at all. The cookie part is very crunchy and it has a delicious creamy filling. My first macaron experience was a positive one, but I probably won’t be trying them at home any time soon.
Another Kentucky product that I have heard a lot about but had never tried was beer cheese. The first beer cheese booth we came to was Larry Mac’s Beer Cheese. C & I both tried a little on a cracker and thought the same thing: YUM! Needless to say, a little package of that came home with us. Larry Mac’s booth was really cute as well. Loved the pepper lights!
Speaking of peppers (how’d you like that segue way), we also found some tasty salsa as well. Me Salsa is based in Louisville, Kentucky and is made with a special kind of pepper. They are in the running for a small business grant, so please click over to their Facebook page and give them a like. On the same condiment note, we also purchased a bottle of homemade ketchup called Grandma Carolyn’s Ketchup which is also made in Georgetown. I can’t wait to try this in a meatloaf or just on a big ol’ juicy hamburger.
Blue Bell Creameries was giving away a full scoop of their ice cream so, of course, we had to partake of that as well. C & I both got Dutch Chocolate and it was so creamy and tasty.
Last, but definitely not least in my book, was Cellar Door Chocolates. Oh my goodness!!!! It would be worth the trip to downtown Louisville just to go to their store and get more chocolate. Mercy! I bought the Brown Sugar Pecan Bark and the Sea Salt Almond Bark and it was almost gone by Sunday afternoon. It is divine!
So, this was my haul for the day. I could have bought so much more and just had to control myself not to over do it. I may not be able to wait until next year for some of these products. Hmmm, I wonder if they ship?
Picture Perfect Cooking 