Four-time James Beard Foundation “Best Chef South” semi-finalist and Iowa native, Kathleen Blake, started cooking at an early age in her grandmother's kitchen where she helped prepare Sunday suppers for her large extended family.
Staying true to her path, Blake worked in restaurants throughout high school before heading west to attend the Community College of San Francisco's Culinary Apprenticeship Program. In 2003, Blake was recruited as Chef de Cuisine, opening Melissa Kelly's Primo in Orlando at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes.
In 2011, she and her husband, William Blake, went on to open their own farm-to-table restaurant, The Rusty Spoon, in Orlando’s Church Street Historical District; earning seven Silver Spoon awards in 2014 after being open for just three years. The Blake's focus continues to be on locally sourced food, simply prepared, in a comfortable environment.