“I Was Country Before Country Was Cool”

That’s the title of a classic country song sung by the incomparable Barbara Mandrell. I love that title, and the story it represents. The song talks about starting from a combination of your roots and a deeply sensed need in the world, and stepping into a new space before the space is “cool.” This pattern of insight and action shows up in the lives of innovative leaders, not fast followers or copycats.

An analogy could be sung by my friend, Ken Myska. It doesn’t quite have the lyrical flow, but it would go something like this: “I was a regenerative farmer and a farm-to-table restaurateur before it was cool.”

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Backstory: The Making of a Chef and Innovator

While he was on his way to becoming a chef in a Las Vegas Michelin 3-star restaurant, Ken had an epiphany moment (sometimes called the A-ha experience). That moment, emerging from hundreds of seemingly small experiences, memories, questions, and actions, suddenly combined Ken’s roots with his advocation and with the spoken and unspoken needs and desires of people—to eat great food and stay healthy.

Roots: Growing Up in the Heartland

Ken was raised in a small town in central Illinois, outside of Bloomington, the heartland of American farming. His family were not farmers, but every time he went to school, rode his bike to the store, or drove north to Chicago or south to St. Louis on Interstate 55, he was surrounded by farms.

Ken admits he was not the most motivated kid in school. Some of his antics landed him at home for days at a time. His mom, being a practical, tough-love sort, decided not to let Ken waste his time but learn skills she could teach him—primarily through baking.

Ken was a natural, and he expanded his gifts in the kitchen to cooking. His talents led him to chef school and eventually to a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Las Vegas.

Advocation: The Chef Who Grew His Own Ingredients

On his journey to become a great chef, Ken discovered the power of fresh herbs. Instead of buying them, he experimented by growing them in his bedroom under heat lights. He offered his locally and organically grown herbs to the master chef at the Michelin restaurant to try. Within months, Ken became the supplier of herbs to this top-of-the-line restaurant while he continued to refine his skills as a chef.

In the middle of his chef training and herb growing, he met his future wife. She resonated with his passion for growing things that made food taste better and were good for people. His best friend also saw Ken’s integrated passion for cooking, organics, and helping people stay healthy through what they ate.

Epiphany: Returning to His Roots

While chopping vegetables, Ken reflected on growing up in central Illinois. He fondly remembered the old farmers who approached their work as a calling and an art as much as they did a science and a business. Ken wondered how he could learn from them about growing fresh things.

He also had a hunch, from selling his homegrown herbs to the master chef, that superb crops and livestock could shorten and freshen the supply chain and supply restaurants directly. Ken had the “epiphany” to go home to his roots and learn from the older farmers’ “old ways” of farming.

He had become an excellent chef, as had his new wife. Why not start a restaurant as an outlet for his crops and livestock and sell the remainder to elite restaurants in Chicago, just like he had done with his master chef and herbs?

Taking a leap of faith, Ken, his wife, and his best friend moved back to central Illinois and formed what has become known as Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group. It began with buying a small piece of farmland from one of his soon-to-be farmer mentors, as well as “old-fashioned” farm equipment the farmers no longer used.

It has been said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Ken did not have a lot of money, but he had a burning desire to learn. He became a voracious learner about regenerative farming, a system where nothing goes to waste. It follows nature’s pattern of recycling “waste” from one species of plant or animal to become fuel for the next. Ken put it into practice on his farm, and he continued to learn by doing.

What People Desire: Food That Nourishes

Ken’s business model wasn’t just about saving money. It was about helping people have great dining experiences, especially around the taste and quality of the food. On top of that, his model was—and is—about helping people be healthy, with food as a major catalyst for health. The human body knows when it is consuming something fresh, healthy, and organic versus processed.

Ken did not beat people over the head with whole health or whole food concepts. He just started providing superb examples of it that people loved. Ken shared his passion with people who were open to learning more about it, and the movement became contagious.

There’s a lesson here. Ken shared his knowledge and beliefs and got people on board not by arguing, but by doing things differently than the prevailing culture. He simply began offering a new dining experience featuring great-tasting food and herbs that helped clear up colds, sinus issues, and other small things that distract people from thriving.

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The Ripple Effect: From One Farm to a Movement

Ken’s business has grown in multiple ways. One restaurant has grown to three. Ken bought a larger farm situated next to his boyhood home. He continues to offer his wares to Chicago restaurants and to local citizens who come to his farm stand.

What’s more, he caters and holds events for people to learn not only about cooking but also about producing great food.

Now, regenerative farming and farm-to-table options are cool. Ken was ahead of the trend. He helped shape it. That’s what insightful innovators do.

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Looking Through the Third Angle Lens

Ken’s story is a powerful reminder of what innovation really looks like through the Third Angle lens. It doesn’t always start in a lab or with a big announcement. It begins with curiosity, connection to one’s roots, and the courage to act before others see the opportunity. By blending his passion for food, health, and sustainability, Ken reimagined what “farm to table” could mean and built a thriving model that nourishes both people and the planet.

At Third Angle, we celebrate innovators like Ken who think differently, challenge assumptions, and create new systems for a better future. Stay tuned as we continue to share more backstories of insightful innovators who are reshaping their fields, one bold idea at a time.

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