GILBERTSVILLE — The focus of the annual Fancy Farm picnic is the political speeches.But that's Saturday night.The night before, Democrats gathered for their traditional pre-Fancy Farm bean dinner — more than 60 pounds of beans were consumed by nearly 500 people at the Kentucky Dam Village Convention Center. Chef Richard Lindsay said the planning and organizing for the bean dinner began months in advance with orders and estimates, but the cooking is a one day affair.Some 100 pounds of ham hock goes into the beans. The meat hit the cookers at about 5:30 a.m., followed a few hours later by pound after pound of northern white beans."We do put a little bacon grease in there. You know, traditional, old school, like grandma," Lindsay said.And the recipe is a hit, he said. This year, just a few trays of beans were left over. Related: WFPL's coverage of the 2014 Fancy Farm picnicThe Democratic crowd ate up the speeches, including one from Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes.Not everyone was pleased with the supper.Krit Stubblefield, of Murray, said: "When Wendell Ford started this there was more ham in the beans."Louisville resident Bill Ryan said he's attended the Democratic bean supper for more than 20 years, and this year's serving was just as good as year's past."They're great," he said. "Perfect thing to sit around and talk to people about."
