Q&A with Lori Rice:
Bringing global experiences to the table

By Erin Holaday Ziegler
Bourbon and Beans

Lancaster, Ky., writer, food blogger and nutritionist Lori Rice compares herself to a Maracujá, or a Passion Fruit.

The well-traveled public relations director is “unique, yet familiar at the same time … can be a little tart, but once you get to know [her], you find some pretty interesting things inside.”

Rice, a Kentucky transplant originally from southern Indiana, came to Lexington for graduate school. In spite of continuing travel, her heart never left the Commonwealth.

A two-year stint in southern Brazil only heightened Rice’s love of international cuisine and culture.

“Living in another country is something I never expected I would do, but now I cannot imagine not having that experience in my life,” she said.

Rice brings her global experiences to the table daily, through creative posts and photography on her food blog, Fake Food Free, and in the kitchen with her husband and two pugs Macy Mae and Dixie.

Following is a recent Bourbon and Beans Q&A with Rice.

B&B: Favorite bourbon?
LR: Woodford Reserve

B&B: Favorite bean?
LR: Brown speckled cow beans

B&B: Were you born in Kentucky?
LR: No, but not far from the Western Kentucky border in southern Indiana.

B&B: Do you consider yourself to be sassy?
LR: I prefer spunky, but yes, I suppose I can be pretty spunky at times.

B&B: What type of cuisine influences you most?
LR: Asian. We traveled Southeast Asia for a month before our return to the U.S., and the food was outstanding. I continue to be inspired by the simplicity, flavors and ingredients in Asian cuisines.

B&B: What’s your all-time favorite food?
LR: Real-deal Vienna sausages and kraut with a pretzel and mustard. It has to be eaten in Germany or Vienna though, sitting in a beer garden in the summer.

B&B: What’s your current favorite food?
LR: Pizza. Yes, I know this sounds a bit simple coming from a food-lover. I love pizza because there are so many versions. It is one food that just about every culture has managed to put their spin on.

B&B: What food do you dislike?
LR: Durian, it’s a fruit found in Southeast Asia. It’s the only food I can ever remember eating that I immediately wanted to spit out as soon as I got it in my mouth.

B&B: Do you have professional culinary training?
LR: No. My basic cooking and food preservation skills I learned from my mom and grandmas. The rest I taught myself from a lot of Food Network watching and book and web reading.

B&B: Who do you cook for?
LR: Me and my husband.

B&B: What is/was your favorite cooking job?
LR: I worked for a Great Harvest Bread Co from high school through the first couple years of college. I baked, made the sweets and pastries, and worked the kneading table. Looking back, even though it was monotonous at times, I loved that work.

B&B: Can you share one of your cooking secrets with us?
LR: Use the best ingredients possible, and even if your final result isn’t perfect like the picture, it’s still going to taste good. I use local, naturally raised meats and foods from our garden as often as possible. There is absolutely nothing like cooking foods that you’ve grown yourself.

B&B: Who’s your farmer?
LR: We have several. Our eggs most often come from Wonder of Life Farm; meats we often get from Pike Valley Farm and from Marksbury Farm Market. All are located in Garrard County, Kentucky.

For produce, my dad is still my farmer when I can visit home in the summer and bring back things from his garden. He has the greenest thumb on earth. Many of the plants in my own garden are transplants from his.

B&B: Any food allergies?
LR: Fortunately no, and I consider this a tremendous blessing.

B&B: What’s your most interesting food experience abroad?
LR: In Singapore we followed the Anthony Bourdain trail and tried Soup Tulang – bone marrow from mutton bones cooked in a dark red chili sauce. Like we saw in the show, we used straws to suck the marrow out of the bone. Just so you know, this is not how the locals do it. I’m sure we were a pretty entertaining sight that night.

The dish was delicious, I have to say. Although at first, it was a challenge for me to try it. I wrote about it on my blog complete with pictures of us in action. I’m pretty sure I lost some vegetarian readers after that post.

Erin Holaday Ziegler blogs weekly for Bourbonandbeans.com, where this column first appeared. A Kentucky transplant from Charleston, S.C, Erin has developed a taste for bourbon, burgoo and Kentucky basketball. Please send bourbon, blog guest ideas and questions to erin@BourbonAndBeans.com.