This Creative City Story is made possible by a special collaboration with Paducah Life Magazine.
Nestled in the heart of western Kentucky’s lakes region, an unexpected culinary enterprise is gaining notoriety across the nation. America’s Best Caviar is gracing fine dining tables from New York City to Miami to Los Angeles, making Kentucky an unlikely epicenter of one of the world’s most luxurious delicacies.
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A Unique Product in a Unique Location
While caviar won’t be found at the center of most western Kentucky tables (just ask David Fields—he’s tried), the company’s location in western Kentucky puts it at the heart of “caviar country.”
“What sets America’s Best Caviar apart is its focus on wild-caught caviar from paddlefish and hackleback sturgeon native to the Mississippi River watershed. The two types of fish we use are the only types of wild caught caviar in the world. Every other caviar is farm raised,” Fields explains. “This gives our product a unique flavor profile that can’t be replicated by farm-raised alternatives.”
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David Fields, a Mayfield native and former teacher, administrator, and coach, took ownership of the caviar company in 2012 when looking for a career change. When the opportunity to buy a fish market with an attached caviar business in Grand Rivers, KY arose, the avid fisherman jumped at the opportunity, plunging headfirst into a world that touches refined palates, fine dining, and very time-honored fishing traditions.
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Depending on your background, palate, and possibly even pocketbook, you may have only a distant notion of what caviar is: it is thought to be fancy, and it is fish eggs. And while those are both true, the business of wild caught caviar is, in fact, not always so glamorous, hands-on work.
Fields’ processing facility—located in Grand Rivers next to his fish market—strategically allows him to source caviar from multiple states, including Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois, and Kentucky. It is within an hour of the Cumberland River, the Tennessee River, the Mississippi River, and the Ohio River, all of which are home to the paddlefish and hackleback sturgeon on which his business relies.
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The caviar season runs from around November to May, and the fishermen who supply his operation are core to its survival. Most fishermen work alone or in pairs, running nets and bringing in one to several fish nearly every day from November to late April. The eggs of a single fish can yield several pounds, commanding thousands of dollars when sold to wholesalers and restaurants. Extracting that caviar is where the tradition, art, and science of caviar blend.
Caviar is graded on four properties: the size of the egg, the strength of the egg, the color of the egg, and the taste. The process begins with carefully slicing open the paddlefish to extract the weighty, lustrous grey egg sac. This sac is then gently pressed against a metal screen, separating each tiny egg. In a large bowl, the eggs are washed and rinsed, removing any fish fat and imperfect eggs from the batch.
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Salt is added to the caviar before it’s placed in cold storage, awaiting shipment to various destinations. In the end, Fields says, “It’s got a kind of buttery flavor. The sturgeon is more like if you took a half of a cashew and put just a drop of butter on it.”
From Local Waters to National Markets
Despite being based in Kentucky, America’s Best Caviar has found its biggest market far from home, and Fields regularly travels around the country to personally deliver his product to high-end restaurants and retailers.
“I can’t count the times I’ve been to New York in the last 13 years,” he says. “I’d never been there before I got into this business. Caviar has taken me a lot of places.”
He also notes that some of his most enthusiastic clients share a Russian heritage. Because of the proximity of Russia to the Caspian Sea, which was THE place to get paddlefish and sturgeon caviar until it became overfished, many of his clients with ties to the region relish the wild-caught taste of his product.
“Honestly,” Fields notes, “if I could sell to Moscow I’d be made. Sanctions don’t allow it, but caviar is a big part of the Russian culinary palate. And they know good caviar when they taste it.”
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The company has also garnered attention from some Southern culinary stars like two-time Top Chef runner up Sara Bradley. America’s Best Caviar has also been featured in books and articles by various food writers, such as the Forbes writer Chloe Sorvino who named them as one of the top 30 sustainable gift ideas of 2022. Fields even provided caviar for Sorvino’s wedding after she sampled his product. In spring of 2025, his caviar will also be featured in Terry French’s upcoming publication Extreme Chef Terry French.
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One of the joys of Fields’ relationships with his clients has been discovering unexpected ways to enjoy caviar. He raves about pannacotta topped with caviar and pork cracklings created by chef Sara Bradley. In fact, he brings caviar each time he visits her restaurant, which she usually uses to find new creative plating and pairs for his meal. But his personal favorite way to enjoy this delicacy? Caviar on cheesecake. “It’s like cheesecake on steroids,” he says, describing how the richness of the caviar enhances the flavors and rich buttery texture of the dessert.
Fields sees his unlikely journey from educator to caviar purveyor as an initial stroke of luck followed by a lot of hard work. “I can never do for caviar what caviar has done for me, but I have tried to learn every single thing there is to know about the product, its history, and the art and science of keeping the BEST caviar on people’s plates,” he reflects.
