F&B Florida 2018

Kathleen Blake
Chef/Owner
Rusty Spoon


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 during high school and then moved out 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. She began working with local farmers, organizing a cooperative that eventually grew to support many of the restaurants in Orlando. She and her husband, William Blake, built and maintained the organic garden at Primo Orlando until 2011. As strong life and business partners, the couple went out on their own to open Orlando's The Rusty Spoon, in the downtown Church Street Historic District; earning 7 Silver Spoon awards in 2014 after being open for only 3 years. The Rusty Spoon was voted the 'best farm to table' restaurant hands down, and critics even credit Blake for being famous for that 'farm to table' tagline long before it was cool. Her focus continues to be on locally sourced food, simply prepared, in a comfortable environment. Blake was also a James Beard Award semifinalist for the best chef in the South in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017; 2013 Best Chefs America Southern Region, and nominated for both Golden Whisk and Community Service Awards by Women Chefs & Restauranteurs. Since its founding in 1993, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs has worked to promote and advance female professionals in the culinary industry. Blake ran the scholarship program for the organization for 13 years. In 2017, she launched Pioneers & Legends, a Central Florida fundraiser celebrating and supporting the James Beard Foundation's work in advancing women in the culinary industry.

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