Charlie Woods
Born in Sarasota, Florida and raised between the gulf-coast beaches and mountains of Southwest Colorado, Charles "Charlie" Woods is an avid outdoors-man and technocrat. He has spent time building and running tech businesses in the Washington, D.C. area, is a full-time residential realtor in Sarasota, and travels whenever possible to capture and create new work for his landscape photography business. When not working, Charlie spends time volunteering around town, fixing up his childhood home, and playing with April, his yellow Labrador retriever. His passion for good food, fine wine and spirits, and making new friends led him to join the Key Culinary Tours team in late 2015.
Jason Crain
A rarity these days in Sarasota is a native son, and Jason is proud to be one! His intimate knowledge of the area provides tourists with a unique perspective of the area. He has been in the tourism business in Sarasota since 2010 and loves sharing the beauty of Sarasota with folks from all over the world. Jason does all of our tours but he is the only one who leads our new culinary bike tour.
Jean Smith-Kruse
Jean’s first visit to Florida occurred in 1970 when it was love at first sight, a place she knew would someday become home. After a rewarding career in telecommunications, this Jersey Girl retired, said goodbye to Ocean Grove, and headed to Sarasota for new adventures. Retirement was grand, but new experiences for learning and growth beckoned. She served as an Ambassador Concierge for the Ritz-Carlton Members Beach Club for seven years and was a proud member of the opening team. Ready for change, she spent four years as the Volunteer Coordinator at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. This football fanatic feels there is no place too far to travel to see one of her teams’ games and also enjoys the magic of Walt Disney World. As an avid traveler, Jean loves soaking up the ambiance and history of her destinations, immersing herself in the local lifestyle. While home in Sarasota, she loves to share the beauty, diversity, and culture of our Southwest Florida treasure.
Patricia Novak
Patricia lived abroad for 37 years, mostly in Italy, and returned to the United States five years ago. She has traveled and toured Europe and says it is a pleasure to be on the other side of the "tour"equation. Patricia enjoys sharing local Sarasota history and with her world travels, brings a unique perspective to our tours. Patricia is able to conduct tours in Italian too!
Robert Gaglio
Born and raised outside of Detroit, Robert discovered the beauty of Southwest Florida later in life, first in Ft. Myers and later Sarasota. With his passion for the outdoors, the arts and culture, Sarasota immediately become home with its rich history, cultural community, and natural beauty. When he's not providing tours with Key Culinary, Robert owns and operates Italian Culinary Tours, a specialty travel company that offers unique dining experiences and educational tours through the diverse regions of Italy, and Ciao Bella Productions, an innovative, private party catering company. Active in the community, Robert is a member of the Rotary Club of Sarasota and a board member and volunteer for Save Our Seabirds, a wild bird education center and rescue.
Seva Anthony
Seva Anthony hails from Lake Placid, NY and later headed to NYC where she worked for ten years as a dancer. Subsequently, she worked as an internationally-known aerialist in RBB&B Circus and Las Vegas' casinos before turning to drama where she performed with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Seva's gypsy lifestyle is never sure where the next road will lead, but presently, she also runs her own interactive traveling drama troupe called the Red Rose Parlour Theatre. When she's not leading a tour or performing, Seva, a 14 year-resident of Sarasota, uses the remainder of her time to write, direct and walk along the bay with her lovable Maltipoo pup, Rappy.
Susan Robinson
My name is Susan and I’m the founder of Key Culinary Tours. I’ve been a concierge in Sarasota for 14 years and absolutely love this city I call, “home.” I love everything about it and was inspired on a recent trip to Miami, when I took an historic tour of a section of the city on which they included food! I thought that this would be the perfect addition to our town. A fascinating tour accompanied with some tastings at the best restaurants in the area. I am passionate about St. Armands; it’s history, it’s style and it’s (often) chef-run restaurants. I hope you find our culinary tour a fun outing and an addition to the fun activities so easy to enjoy in our little neck of the world.
Susan Robinson is on Facebook and LinkedIn
Walter Kruse
Walter was born, raised, and lived at the Jersey Shore until 2001 when he found his paradise in Sarasota. While in New Jersey, he enjoyed a career in the corporate computer industry working at AT&T, Bell Labs, and Lucent Technologies. After a short retirement, he then wowed the guests of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota for seven years before making the move to Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium as the Guest Services Manager for five years. Walter is passionate about travel, cruises, fashion, playing chess, Sarasota, as well as having fun. He cannot wait to share the ambiance, history, and culinary treats of our town with you!
Maggie Deitsch
Maggie joined our culinary family with extensive tour guide experience having been a tour guide with Tour St. Augustine before moving to Sarasota . Maggie's previous experience included managing the Lemon Bay Players House theater so performance is in her blood. In her spare time Maggie is an ISO mosaic artist. Born in Florida, she is one of those rare true Floridians and she makes history come alive on her tours! Come on a tour with Maggie!