Rod came up through the ranks starting at the Coach House in Lexington where he worked both in the kitchen and as a musician.  "Stanley Demos (the owner of the legendary eatery_ heard me play and told me to give it up and be a cook.  I think he was right."

Back again to Lexington, he opened the Atomic Cafe, a lively eatery devoted to Caribbean fusion.  He's worked in an upscale deli, a fine Italian restaurant and the University of Kentucky faculty club.  And now he feels he's found the place where all of these disparate adventures can come together in a dynamite menu, Rossi's.  The cafe and nightspot was a fixture near the University for the first four years, but has recently moved to a new facility featuring lots of blonde wood and a very contemporary atmosphere.  "That's our food, too:  contemporary and bright."

Rod has worked with a variety of spirits in the kitchen including Irish whiskey.  And then he had a bourbon epiphany.  "Bourbon has more sugar, more nose than an Irish whiskey, and that makes it more adaptable.  I didn't realize though, that you could sit down and drink it with a meal, just like a fine wine," he says.

One of Rod's favorite creations is a cocktail with Woodford Reserve blackberries, peaches and some simple syrup.  "I think it's better than sangria."

And in the kitchen?  "Once I understood how a really fine Woodford Reserve bourbon could go with anything, even a great piece of cheese, there was no end to it," he notes.  "Here in Kentucky, you know you can put bourbon on anything."