Andy Altomare has had a passion for food since a young age. A native of Roxborough, he attended W.B Saul High School, where he majored in Meat Science. While still in high school, he began his culinary life at Barry’s Steaks, a local cheesesteak shop with a loyal following. He later began working at Feastivities Events, a full-service high-end catering company. Andy started as a server, but quickly worked his way into the warehouse and then into the kitchen. After proving his dedication and natural skill, the owners of Feastivities offered to pay his way through culinary school at the Art Institute of Philadelphia if he agreed to work for them for five years in return. He agreed to the deal and graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts.

During his time at Feastivities, Andy was promoted to the Sous Chef position and became responsible for all back-of-the-house operations. As he rose in the ranks at Feastivities, he also began his career on a national scale. A board member of the International Caterers Association (ICA), he taught at several national conferences for 2,000+ industry professionals in Las Vegas, Louisville, and Miami. He was even the subject of a feature article for the ICA’s monthly publication , ICA Communicator in December 2007.

After nearly a decade at Feastivities, Andy sought employment as a Sous Chef at Harrah’s Chester Casino where he would learn the business side of running restaurants. He managed four of the casino’s restaurants, including their fine dining restaurant The Cove Steakhouse. While in the Sous Chef position he oversaw 100 cooks and 25 stewards, made modern menu changes, and re-wrote recipes to add a fresh twist to the casino’s food offerings.

A few weeks after starting at Harrah’s, Andy met Carolyn Blake. Carolyn grew up in Hamburg, NY (a suburb of Buffalo), but moved to New York City in 2003 to attend Fordham University. She started interning at AOL the summer between her Sophomore and Junior years and continued to intern there for two full years in their Sales Integration & Promotion department. Upon graduation Carolyn knew she wanted to stay at AOL , but she wanted a slightly different role. Her experience in Sales Integration helped her secure a job as a Sales Associate where she worked on developing strategic partnerships with large pharmaceutical advertisers. Hard work and dedication paid off for her at the age of 22 when she was the youngest person ever to be promoted to Account Manager in the New York office.

A large part of Carolyn’s job was interacting with and entertaining clients, and her job afforded her the opportunity to eat at many of New York City’s finest restaurants. It was these experiences that made her truly fell in love with the art and creativity required to create memorable, unique, and delicious food.

When Carolyn and Andy met, she was fascinated by his culinary background and his passion for the food he creates. He was impressed with her business sense and her aptitude for marketing and sales. With their combined talents and backgrounds, they soon realized that they made a dynamic team.

Despite the fact that Andy lived in Philadelphia and Carolyn lived in New York City, their relationship has continued to blossom. Nearly a year after they first met, they decided to open the Silver Spoon Bistro together in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. With the restaurant now up and running, they hope that their passion for food soon becomes yours.