A 'Rustyc' taste – Press Gazette

MILTON — Rusty Strain always wanted to own his own catering business and put his love of cooking to good use. In November 2018, he finally achieved that dream when he launched his catering company, A Rustyc Spoon, finally getting to cook the food he wanted the way he wanted.

"I was working for another restaurant at the time," Strain said. "I was tired of making other people's food. I wanted to be more creative."

The name came out of a joke, Strain said. He said he wanted to incorporate his name, "Rusty" and "spoon" because of the fact everyone needs a spoon while cooking.

So with a friend, he launched the catering company not knowing what to expect. Strain was initially worried the business would fail but he said his first catering job, a wedding in Gulf Breeze, turned out to be a success for him.

"I thought it was a wild haired dream." he said. "We were so nervous. We brought 100 business cards to the wedding. By the time it was over I was having to write my information on blank cards."

After a couple more successful events, Strain said he realized the reason he was a hit was that his business was different from other types of catering services around. He said his service is not just a "catering" service but an intimate dining experience done out of love.

In addition to catering Strain gives various themed classes on food preparation all over the gulf coast from Panama City to Jay.

"One of the things we want to do is to teach people you don't have to go out to do fine dinning," Strain said. "I'm not afraid to travel to give people that experience."

Some of the specialties Strain said he does are themed menus that are intricate as wagyu filet to as simple as taco. He said they always create menus personal to the person they are catering to because they want to make it as intimate as possible for the person. He said they can do any type of theme parties, including wine parties, anniversaries, and cooking classes.

As he continues to grow his business, Strain said he doesn't want to lose any of that intimacy and food quality that made him famous. He said he will continue to keep it creative and casual and has no plans to become too commercial.

"We have always let our abilities speak for itself," he said. "They love our food. They see our passion in our food."

You can contact Strain at 850-602-2290 or arustycspoon@gmail.com.