Spoon creator Melissa Chmelar is a little bit rock and roll and a little bit country. Growing up, Melissa called both New York City and rural New York her home. She acquired a love for city living, yet drew culinary inspiration from her mother's country cooking. "My mom was an amazing cook, everything we had was homemade. She even found a jersey cow near our house upstate and had us making butter in the summer!" Melissa's family tapped maple trees, constructed scaffolding over bonfires, and gave the resulting syrup to favored teachers. Home made syrup, jams and pickles were given in part as a 'thank you' for patience with their wild childhood spirit.

Home is where the heart is, and Melissa's childhood kitchen was the central room. "Everything went down there, there was always something on the stove." With Melissa, there is always something new and exciting on the stove. Illustrious Cordon Bleu was Melissa's destination after high school. The tie between family and food continued as the English branch of Melissa's family cheered for Melissa while she cooked up a storm in London. Melissa returned to the US and obtained a degree in the arts, exploring her love of photography and film. Friends and business associates continually asked Melissa to provide food for their photo shoots, and Melissa found herself spending hours paging through cook books and thinking of creative yet simple ways to nourish photographers and artists while they worked. Melissa's excitement soon became overwhelming and thus began Spoon catering. After experiencing overwhelming success, Melissa developed Spoon storefront and tbsp.

Family-owned and operated since 1999, Spoon storefront uses hand picked, seasonal organic produce grown in upstate New York sourced by From Farm to Chef. Fresh and local is the cornerstone upon which Spoon is built. Delivered daily, all of Spoon's produce, meats and fish are fresh. Desserts, muffins and sweet and savory treats are hot out of the oven. Spoon also produces a full line of frozen entrees, baking mixes and home canned sauces, condiments, relishes, rubs and jams. Spoon specializes in providing innovative culinary options for photo shoots, corporate meetings and private events. Melissa continues to bring creativity and integrity to the table.