Roxanne Spruance

The Climb

Michigan State University gave Roxanne Spruance the early structure; the kitchens that followed gave the range. In Blackbird in Chicago, the pastry bench demanded precision and patience. At WD~50 in New York City from 2010, the work moved into the daily pace of a kitchen built on rigor. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Stone Barns added another layer of discipline, and the later consulting role at Café Tallulah in New York City showed how that training could travel beyond one dining room. The shift into Executive Chef work changed the terms of the job, but not the standard. At Alison Eighteen from 2013 and Kingsley from 2015, Roxanne Spruance moved from executing within a line to setting the kitchen’s direction. By the time she reached Bedford Post Inn in Bedford from 2020, the career arc had already established its shape: a steady climb through exacting rooms, each one requiring speed, judgment, and a clear sense of what the day’s ingredients could support.

Today

Since 2020, Roxanne Spruance has led Bedford Post Inn in Bedford, United States, as Executive Chef, carrying forward the discipline built in earlier kitchens. The timing of that role brought added pressure, and her response was plain: “Thankfully, despite the timing, we’ve hardly skipped a beat.” It is the kind of line that fits the work—measured, unsentimental, and focused on keeping service moving. The cooking there rests on creative use of local ingredients and whole animal butchery. Those are working choices, not branding language. Local ingredients tie the menu to the season and the region; whole animal butchery asks for a kitchen that can handle the ingredient with completeness and restraint. In Spruance’s hands, the approach reads as practical, deliberate, and built on full-use thinking rather than ornament.

In Their Words “Thankfully, despite the timing, we’ve hardly skipped a beat.”

Recognition

Roxanne's honors include Michelin Recommended, Crain’s 40 Under 40, Zagat Best New Restaurant (2016), Zagat Best American Restaurant (2016), Slow Food New York Snail of Approval, and Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. The recognitions sit on top of a career built through demanding kitchens rather than around them. From the pastry apprenticeship at Blackbird to leadership at Bedford Post Inn, each step added another level of control, range, and responsibility. The through line is not spectacle but consistency: a fine-dining vocabulary applied with discipline, and a clear commitment to ingredients handled with care.