From Benedictine to Bourbon Balls: Chef Lawrence Weeks Is Serving Up Unique Kentucky Fare at Atlanta’s EBONY Sensory Soiree Presented by Louisville Tourism
Written by Ashley Iasimone on March 3, 2024
Ready for a taste of Louisville, Kentucky? Chef Lawrence Weeks, owner and executive chef of North of Bourbon and his most recent restaurant, Enso, is bringing his signature dishes to the EBONY Sensory Soiree Presented by Louisville Tourism, a gastronomic adventure taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 13, 2024.
“I want to bring the nuances of Kentucky Derby dishes,” Chef Weeks declares, a reference to the city where the Derby has taken place since 1875.
That includes his Southern-inspired bourbon balls and benedictine sandwiches, “which almost nobody knows about outside Kentucky. I want to bring some dishes that people haven’t seen before.” (Just in case you’re curious: benedictine is a spread made with cucumbers and cream cheese.)
It’s a fitting menu for Weeks. Born in Orange, California, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, the chef also lived in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a child. He spent summers in Houston with his mother’s side of the family.
After surprising his parents with the news that he wanted to switch from computer engineering to culinary school, Weeks started working in kitchens to pay for his education. After graduation, he moved to Atlanta to work with Chef Todd Richards, author of SOUL: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes, before returning to his homestead in Louisville.
Now the proud owner and head chef of his two esteemed restaurants in Louisville, Weeks carved a few moments out of his busy schedule to share with EBONY more about his culinary creations and why Louisville is a burgeoning mecca to discover hot new chefs. Get your tickets to attend the EBONY Sensory Soiree Presented by Louisville Tourism.
EBONY: You opened your first restaurant, North of Bourbon, in Louisville, December 2021.
Chef Lawrence Weeks: Yes. North of Bourbon is a southern restaurant. A lot of people want to classify it as Creole Cajun, but that’s more my personal background. The restaurant’s theme is connecting the sister cities of Louisville and New Orleans. There’s a big emphasis on New Orleans drinking culture and cocktails. The food reflects cultures from South Carolina all the way to Texas and everything in between.
Tell me more about your Creole background. How does that play into your culinary style?
My mother’s side of the family is from Louisiana, a small town called Grand Coteau. During the Great Migration, a lot of them moved to Texas. That’s where my mother was born and raised.
What’s one signature dish and cocktail at North of Bourbon?
The Shrimp Yakamein is definitely one of our signature dishes. Yakamein is New Orleans Street food; it’s like the last meal that you eat after a night of going out drinking and listening to some jazz. Its nickname is “old sober” because it’s supposed to sober you up.
Sounds delicious. And what is the cocktail you’re having right before it?
I would say the one that signifies us the most is the house Old Fashioned. We use Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup, which comes from Louisiana, orange bitters and bourbon. Simple and straight to the point.
You just opened a new restaurant in the area as well.
The new restaurant is called Enso, which is a Buddhist symbol for a single brushstroke. It means everything comes full circle. I’ve been finding a connection between Japanese tradition and technique and Southern cooking, tying in those cultures and discovering their parallels.
Does it also feel full circle for you to return home to Louisville to achieve your culinary dreams?
That’s exactly where it comes from. One of the restaurant partners, Stacy Holyfield, found a quote from me that said it feels like everything’s coming full circle, and it just fit.
What’s one of the signature dishes at Enso?
The signature dish isn’t out yet, but as of right now, it’s the chili sheet crab noodles. It’s like a South Carolina or low-country sheet crab soup. We mix the crab with chili oil and serve it with dry ramen. There’s a cream sauce on the bottom and a bunch of toppings, and you whip all the noodles and the sauce together at the table.
How is the culinary scene evolving in Louisville?
I’ll say it’s very young. Cooks of my generation are now starting to be chefs and restaurant owners, so we’re really getting a new look at what the younger generation has to offer. One of my good friends just opened a spot called Meesh Meesh Mediterranean. There are a lot of good pop-ups, like Shoku Club, which services traditional Japanese food. They’ve blown up to the point where they are looking for brick-and-mortar spaces. I think that our culinary scene is fresh and it’s growing. And it’s starting to get more diverse, which is amazing.
What do you want people to know about Kentucky?
We have something to say in Kentucky. We have a deep and mixed culture here. I think that speaks for our history. A conversation we always have is, are we Southern, Midwestern or Northern? Since the civil war that’s always been a thing. In Louisville, we have the big city; Central Kentucky has all that agriculture. Then you have Eastern Kentucky, which is the Appalachian Mountains. We have plenty to offer that’s undiscovered by the rest of the country and the world.
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