Episode 62. Chef Dean Corbett – Proprietor & Chef of Jack’s, Equus, & Corbett’s Restaurants (1962-2018)
Stephen Dean Corbett was passionate about seeing people enjoy themselves.
Chef Corbett was the owner and chef of three acclaimed restaurants, Equus, Jack’s Lounge, and Corbett’s. Chef Corbett’s mother Nancy is responsible for his cooking career. Upon returning home from college to help care for his mother as she battled lung cancer he noticed that she wasn’t eating. he began cooking to nourish her back to health and has been cooking ever since. He has never taken a culinary course and remains self-taught.
Chef Corbett began his career in Dallas, Texas at the renowned Chandler’s Landing Yacht Club and later at the Ram’s Head Restaurant.
Arriving in Louisville in 1982, he grew through the ranks of the four-star restaurant, Casa Grisanti, a Northern Italian gem. It was with Grisanti that Chef Corbett was able to take part in the Taste of America: a celebration of the top 50 restaurants for President Reagan’s inauguration in 1984.
Giving back to the community is a priority for Chef Corbett. He helped start several dinner fundraisers throughout the city including Kosair Charities Bourbon & Bowties. He is active in countless other benefits including Juvenile Diabetes, Juvenile Autism, March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis, and the American Heart Association.