“You learn so much about yourself when you go somewhere alone. Traveling alone is a spiritual experience.”
The restaurant business, with its idiosyncratic rewards and demands, often attracts a special kind of talent. At the top of the field, these harbingers of hospitality are often free-spirited, driven in their ambitions, multi-faceted and multi-talented – and Kaitlyn Duke simply embodies the archetype. Having grown up in the industry, the idea of perseverance, service, and hard work were simply baked into her bones at a young age.
Watch the video version here.
Kaitlyn Duke, Beverage Director, Bascom’s Chop House, Clearwater
Kaitlyn grew up in Fairfield, CT. As the child of restaurateurs, she started working in the restaurant business at a young age. After completing a degree in Biology at the University of Tampa, she took a teaching job in South America that allowed her to travel. Upon returning to the US, she worked her way through fine dining restaurants, and completed her certificate with the Sommelier Society of America at the top of her class in 2017. She now works as the beverage director at Bascom’s Chop House in Clearwater, FL, and has earned the restaurant a “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator for 2019, 2020, and 2021.