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    James Beard Award winner

    Isaiah Screetch

    Discipline
    James Beard Award winner
    Portrait of Isaiah Screetch

    Portrait of Isaiah Screetch

    i. Biography

    Coming Up

    Training at Sullivan University gave Isaiah Screetch the foundation, but the work sharpened in service kitchens. By 2016, he was sous chef at Keeneland Hospitality, where support work, timing, and pressure management sit at the center of the job. That sequence matters: formal study first, then the daily discipline of line work, then responsibility that grows with the station. The path shows a chef shaped by repetition and structure, building range through the practical demands of the pass.

    At Spark Community Café in Versailles, Kentucky, the role is head chef, and Isaiah Screetch carries that earlier discipline into the kitchen’s daily decisions. The position asks for more than production: it requires setting pace, keeping the team aligned, and holding the standard across service. In that sense, the move from sous chef to head chef is less a change of title than an expansion of scope, with the same craft applied at a larger scale.

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    Where They Are Now

    He is head chef at Spark Community Café in Versailles, Kentucky.

    Signature

    Isaiah's signature dishes include saladu nebbe.

    ii

    FAQ

    Asked of Isaiah

    • What is Isaiah Screetch's current role?

      As of 2026, Isaiah Screetch is Head Chef.

    • Where did Isaiah Screetch train or study?

      Isaiah Screetch trained at Sullivan University.

    • What recognition has Isaiah Screetch received?

      James Beard Awards, Best Chef, Southeast semifinalist (2023).

    The Sunday email

    Get new Made By stories every Sunday.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

    See a sample of the Sunday email

    Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.