Kathleen’s Palate is a food photography and blog site dedicated to Kathleen Fellers by her son Drew Fellers. Kathleen was an experienced Chef, Caterer and Culinary Instructor. She absolutely loved food, cooking and teaching her two children (Tajma and Drew) and others how to cook and train their Palate (hence the name) in order to really enjoy culinary arts. Kathleen spent most of her adult life running a kitchen for the Atlanta Job Corps Center in Atlanta, Ga. and heading up a competition culinary team. She would travel several times a year to compete in food competitions to include, plating, pastries, desserts, and main course dishes just to name a few. She would often ask her children if they could identify the spices/seasons used to create the dish she prepared. While her son focused mostly on eating the dishes, her daughter actually emulated her style and can cook just as well as her mother.
In 1995, Kathleen or “Kat” as most called her, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer which put a grinding halt to her culinary career. After several months of radiation, it was decided that the best course of action would be to have a double mastectomy. While Kat felt indifferent about the procedure, she knew it was the best course of action to save her life. After the surgery, Kat was dedicated to get back into the kitchen. She was able to resume her role as kitchen manager at her job and started cooking and preparing dishes for others and competitions once again.
In 2005, Kat was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. It was at that moment that Kat had to retire from cooking and fight for her life. During her fight with Thyroid cancer, Kat and her son (they have been inseparable since he was a child) became foodies and they used food as a way to bond and to help get Kat’s mind off cancer.
Their monthly outing would consist of a visit to a local grocery store to gather groceries for the month, a stop to get a “quick pick” lottery ticket and a different restaurant of her choice.
The idea was to share an intimate moment with her son over something they both loved…. FOOD! During those outing Kat would show her son how to recognize quality food, excellent plating styles and how to truly enjoy food.
In 2014, Kat lost her fight with cancer. It was at that moment, her son decided to dedicate his passion for food and love for his mom with a photography and blog website in her honor. That concept and dedication yielded this website. Thank you for visiting and welcome to Kathleen’s Palate.
Rest in Peace! Love you! Your son… Drew
