About the Chef

Kathy Block-Brown's passion for food started early. At age ten, she was at her German-Hungarian grandmother's side making soup, strudel, kuchen and other wonderful treats. Even though Kathy's first career took her down a path of teaching and education administration, food was always a priority. Whether in the garden or kitchen, her joy has been bringing fresh, beautiful and healthy food to her family, guests and clients.

In 2004, shortly after moving to Portland, OR, Kathy made a major career change. Following her passion, she enrolled in and graduated at the top of her class from the highly respected Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute. While opening her own catering and personal chef business, Four Seasons Flavor Catering, Kathy worked as a chef instructor with In Good Taste, Portland's premiere cooking school located in the Pearl and Lake Oswego.

The premise of Four Seasons Flavor has always been to focus on using natural meats and produce grown or raised locally, in season and using sustainable practices. Meats are free from hormones and antibiotics. Fish is selected from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch safe list. Produce is mostly organic with an emphasis on sourcing from local farmers. Partnerships have been made with local food suppliers who share these priorties.

This commitment to healthy food sparked an interest with a group of parents in the Portland area and led to the start of the School Lunch Project. Since 2007, Four Seasons Flavor has been preparing school lunch for about 350 children in the Riverdale School District. Nearly all food is prepared from scratch using local and seasonal ingredients. In the fall of 2008, Four Seasons Flavor added Our Lady of the Lake School in Lake Oswego to our client list, expanding daily nutritional lunch service to 150 more children.

Kathy is a member of Chefs Collaborative and Slow Food. She has been featured as a guest chef at the Portland Farmer's Market "Chef in the Market" and on "Dining Out in the Northwest," a radio show sponsored by Food Services of America. She was also a guest chef at the Better Living Show, Portland, OR in March 2009.