Brian Rutherford discovered his love of cooking as a teenager in the Philadelphia area. From cooking in a mom-and-pop style Italian restaurant he studied hotel management at his local college, then graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1989.

Chef Rutherford apprenticed at the Gypsy Rose Hotel in Philadelphia, then further honed his skills at the city's renowned Striped Bass Restaurant.

The promise of great opportunity and
golf year round soon lured him to South Florida. In Boca Raton he worked at Prezzo and Max's Grill Mizner Park.

Then he moved to Miami, where he and his partner Jack Penrod developed the highly popular Pearl Restaurant and Champagne Lounge.