Roxanne entered the culinary world as a pastry chef apprentice in the highly regarded restaurant, Blackbird in Downtown Chicago. Working her way up in the Chicago restaurant industry, Spruance gained valuable knowledge and experience in all aspects of the kitchen.

Chef Spruance’s love of cuisine began at a young age via her parents.  Avid supporters of Chicago’s original farmers markets, independent butchers and fish mongers, her parents set the tone for how she would continue to source ingredients throughout her professional career.  Growing up in an active, outdoors family, Roxanne became an avid hunter, fisher, and backpacker early on in life.

While recruited to play field hockey at Michigan State University, she received two degrees – a B.S. in Environmental Biology/Zoology and a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife. In 2010, Roxanne landed a coveted spot as Chef de Partie under world-renowned chef Wylie Dufresne at New York’s WD~50, where she took full advantage of the opportunity to absorb invaluable modern techniques into her repertoire and to explore and experiment with flavor profiles and menu creation. Her tenure at WD~50 was followed by a Sous Chef position at Blue Hill at Stone Barns under the guidance of Dan Barber, where the daily exposure to fresh and local ingredients reinforced her passion to continue to support that cause in her cooking today. She followed Blue Hill by consulting and opening New York’s Café Tallulah. Roxanne joined Alison Eighteen as Executive Chef in April 2013. It was here that she began to be known for her creative use of local ingredients and whole animal butchery while utilizing a wide range of techniques. She received the coveted “Snail of Approval” certification awarded by Slow Food New York for chefs who have sustainably driven kitchens. Believing that the best food comes from fresh, seasonal products, Roxanne is passionate about purchasing from local farmers.

Following this ethos, Chef Roxanne Spruance opened her own restaurant, Kingsley, in the winter of 2015/2016 to rave reviews.  Kingsley was named Zagat’s “Best New Restaurant” and “Best American Restaurant” in 2016.  It has been Michelin Recommended since opening and also has been awarded the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for the wine list, designed by Chef Spruance.

Chef Spruance has been a featured chef at the James Beard House, and events such as Taste of T, New York Taste, and the New York City Wine and Food Festival. She also won “Chopped” on The Food Network, which featured bacon as a main ingredient and showcased her skills and depth of techniques under pressure. She was also named in Crain’s 40 Under 40 class of 2017.  A frequent contributor on the Today Show, Chef Roxanne is always thrilled to share her tips and recipes on live TV.

Growing up an athlete in Chicago, Chef Roxanne has taken her fearless, winning attitude toward sports and translated it into a fearless attitude towards food. She’s unafraid to experiment with different genres and ingredients and believes in creating a culinary product that is stimulating while never losing respect for the product. Chef Spruance is thrilled to bring this vision and passion to her cuisine daily.

You can see Chef Spruance on the new, highly acclaimed show “The Butcher”, as a judge on the History Channel.