Restaurant news from throughout Greater Orlando

• Local chefs Kathleen Blake of downtown Orlando’s The Rusty Spoon and Brandon McGlamery of Winter Park’s Luma on Park and Prato are among 20 semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards’ Best Chef South category. It marks Blake’s fourth nomination and McGlamery’s second.
• Kiss front men Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have announced plans to open a Rock & Brews in Lee Vista this April. Like its sister restaurant in Oviedo, the new location will offer rock ‘n’ roll ambience, and it will feature a dog-friendly patio with fire pits, couches, games and live music.
• This summer, Winter Park’s Foxtail Coffee will gain a new sister business, Farmhouse, right next door, according to the owners. The new concept is planned as an event venue, espresso coffee bar and marketplace for artisanal goods, and it will also offer coffee-roasting classes.
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  Jiko – The Cooking Place

  Jiko—The Cooking Place, a fine-dining restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, recently debuted a refreshed menu featuring dishes by Chef Daniel Sicilia, who joined the team in 2016, and Pastry Chef Michael Craig. The menu focuses on the cuisines of Africa, India and the Mediterranean.

• Ace Cafe, the iconic London-based diner that became a go-to spot for British motorcyclists, is opening a new outpost in downtown Orlando. Scheduled to debut later this spring, the “roadside gastro-diner” will focus on creative comfort food with modern influences and scratch cooking.

This article originally appeared in Orlando Family Magazine’s March 2017 issue.