LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Several chefs showcased their food at a Heritage Fire Festival on Sunday. Heritage Fire is a traveling tour that goes to multiple cities around the U.S.

Lawrence Weeks took part in the Heritage Fire Festival. He is the chef and owner of restaurants Enso and North of Bourbon.

Weeks has pulled inspiration from a few different places that have made him into the chef he is today. He grew up eating his grandmother’s Southern food and has always appreciated Japanese culture.

“You can tell a lot about culture and history just through food, so I use food as a vehicle to be an educator and a student myself,” Weeks said.

Weeks has been an executive chef for about six years and opened Enso in Oct. 2023.

“During COVID I got an interest in learning how to cook Japanese food so I mixed it with my Southern roots and that’s kind of how Enso came about,” Weeks said.

For the first Heritage Fire Festival held in Louisville, Weeks showcased a taste of Enso for people attending the event. He made sticky pork ribs braised with Okinawa black sugar glaze and bourbon.

The festival supports local chefs and farms.

“We are a live fire, walk around, food and drink festival that’s really about the local culinary scene, so we have a lot of local chefs here today,” said Ale Zamora, the social media manager for Heritage Fire.

Even though it’s a competition among the chefs, Weeks sees it as a way to mingle with others in the industry.

“I always associate barbecue or open fire cooking with its community,” Weeks said. “Eating, cooking, you know, drinking some beers, telling some jokes and having a good time out here, so we got a lot of great chefs. We’ve got a lot of great vendors and providers out here.”

When the event kicked off, several people made their way to Weeks to try what he was serving up.

People at the festival vote for their favorite food and the chef that wins is named the Heritage Hero of Louisville.