Featured Chef
Chef Kate Van Rensselaer Rench first expressed herself through humble mediums with a BFA in sculpture and ceramics. To help support her art career, she ended up in kitchens. Flipping burgers at the Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery in Boulder, she found her passion could be realized through the culinary arts. Kate began courses at The French Culinary Institute in February of 1998, graduating with the Jacques Pepin award.
In September of that same year, she began her career at Jean-Georges restaurant in New York City. It was there that Chef Kate first felt her expression completely realized. The French-Asian fusion delicately prepared cuisine with innovative techniques and astounding results. After a year at Jean-Georges, Chef Kate was promoted to chef de partie of Garde Manger, where Kate remained for the next two years, followed by two years as the executive chef at Hay Day Country Market/Balducci’s in Westport, CT, where she managed a high-volume prepared foods department.
Missing the mountains, she found herself back to the serenity of Steamboat Springs, CO, where she became part of Café Diva. After six months cooking with the restaurant, Kate was offered the executive chef position and eventually a partnership. Her new seasonally changed menus have raised eyebrows with critics, food connoisseurs across the country, and Steamboat locals, through her fresh and exploding, succulent cuisine, and tons of wine to back it all up. Since the restaurant’s expansion (it started with four tables), Café Diva has moved to the pinnacle of dining in Colorado, yet remains quaint in its destination, the Northern Rockies. Chef Kate continues to enjoy her life and culinary career here, with her husband, Craig, and two dogs.
“Creating seasonal menus allows me to explore different recipes and products, keeping the menu fresh and unexpected for the customers. Seattle Fish Company has been a great resource for supplying Café Diva with interesting seafood options. Currently, the U10 scallops are a favorite on the winter menu, offering a fresh, consistent, beautiful and tasty entrée option.” – Kate Van Rensselaer Rench, executive chef at Café Diva
