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Cat Cora Profile

  • The First Female Iron Chef.

  • Cat Cora is a world-renowned chef, author, restaurateur, contributing editor, television host and personality, avid philanthropist, health and fitness expert, lifestyle entrepreneur and proud mother of six.

  • Cat’s concepts are ever evolving with seasonality, sustainability, and current food and lifestyle trends in mind.
  • Cat Cora is a world-renowned chef, author, restaurateur, contributing editor, television host and personality, avid philanthropist, health and fitness expert, lifestyle entrepreneur and proud mother of six. The Jackson, Mississippi native, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and went on to cook at two 3-star Michelin restaurants in France, has been captivating audiences since she made her TV debut in 1999, as co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot with Rocco Di Spirito. She went on to host My Country My Kitchen: Greece, Date Plate, and was one of the featured hosts on Fine Living’s Simplify Your Life. Cat Cora is also a woman who holds a series of “firsts” for women in the culinary industry.

    In 2005, Cat Cora made television history when she became the first-ever female Iron Chef on Food Network’s hit show: Iron Chef America. Since then, she shattered the glass ceiling as one of the first females to dominate the historically male culinary industry. After Cat’s Iron Chef debut, she was featured extensively on a number of television shows, including as co-host on BRAVO’s “Around the World in 80 Plates” as well as FOX’s “My Kitchen Rules.” and ABC’s “Family Food Fight”.

    In 2006, Cat was awarded Bon Appetit Magazine’s “Teacher of the Year Award” and was named the Executive Chef of the magazine. Since then, she has blazed her own trail through the culinary world, becoming the first female inducted into The American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame.

    Cat has opened more than 18 restaurants across the United States and globally, highlighting her platform on health, wellness and sustainability:

    Cat Cora’s Kitchen, and Cat Cora’s Gourmet Market, located in numerous airport locations throughout the U.S., Cat Cora’s Taproom located in the Detroit Metro Airport, Ocean by Cat Cora, an award-winning restaurant in Singapore, Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney World, CCQ at Macy’s, Postino in San Francisco’s East Bay, Mesa Burger which can be found in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito, and Olilo by Cat Cora and Wicked Eats by Cat Cora have over 500 pop-ups across the country.

    In 2018, Cat partnered with WW on a first-of-its-kind health food destination inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, called WW FreestyleTM Café: BKLYN. That same year, Cat was also proud to be featured in the permanent collection of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Museum’s Kitchen Table exhibit in Meridian, Mississippi.

    Cat is Little Kitchen Academy’s Official Ambassador, Honorary Head of Recipe Development, and Advisory Board Member. Little Kitchen Academy is the key ingredient for an independent child. The first-of-its-kind Montessori-inspired cooking academy for kids ages three through teen, Little Kitchen Academy is focused on providing a safe, inspiring, and empowering space for children to identify, develop, and refine their senses. Through joy, mindfulness, and learning we are creating a foundation for a healthy lifespan through responsible eating choices: from scratch to consumption.

    As if that wasn’t enough, Cora is also a prominent published author of three successful cookbooks, one children’s book and, in 2015, her raw and remarkably candid memoir called Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef’s Story of Food, Family and Forgiveness.

    Outside the kitchen, Cora is best known for her philanthropic efforts. She is the President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to reducing hunger worldwide by supporting humanitarian relief and promoting nutrition education.

    In 2018, Chef Cat Cora launched her Women’s Empowerment Culinary Internship Program to mentor, give back and help women succeed in the culinary arts. Each year, Chef Cora and family will host a female student in culinary school for a week in Santa Barbara, CA. The candidate will be given the opportunity to have hands on experience in both the back and front of the house at Chef Cora’s restaurant, Mesa Burger. Additionally, they will experience the daily operations of Cat’s business in its entirety.

    President Barack Obama awarded her The President’s Volunteer Service Award for helping to address the most pressing needs in her community and our country and The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for building a stronger nation through her volunteer service.

    Cora currently resides in California with her wife Nicole and their six boys.

    Cat Cora Speaking Videos

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    Cat Cora's Speech Descriptions

    OPTIMAL LIVING WITH CAT CORA

    Optimal living means mastering every part of your life from health to wealth to joy to fulfillment. Coming from a poverty background to creating financial peace, to career success, to how to break through societal pressures, to mastering food and community, Cat Cora shares how to elevate your living.

    BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE AROUND FOOD

    Food is so much more than what we eat. It is the center of homes, communities and celebrations. It can bring us wellness or sickness. It can help forge relationships and an essential part of a well run home. Cat Cora shows us how to cook smarter not harder and how to master the art of cooking and living around food. Any of the following sub-topics can be covered within this lecture:

    - Family-Friendly Healthy Cooking
    - Organic Food
    - Cooking Demonstrations
    - What Do You Eat for That? A Food Lover's Roadmap to Culinary Medicine
    - Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat
    - Getting Thin and Loving Food
    - The Future of Food

    HEALTH & WELLNESS

    For the first time in history, more Americans will die from lifestyle related illness than from communicable diseases. It is time we step in and step up to transform our country, renovate ourselves and prepare a different future for our children. Cat Cora is the ultimate authority and leader to show you how to master healthy living. Incorporating food demonstrations into her lectures, she can customize her lecture around any theme or goal for your audience such as coronary disease, weight loss, diabetes, osteoporosis, women's health, healthy kids, etc.

    WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

    Why is it that a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions? What are the messages we tell ourselves and what are the messages we tell other women? Is it time for change? When Cat Cora comes to your group, she speaks on how to navigate tougher choices between professional success and professional fulfillment (a corner stone of the issue) as well as offers 3 powerful pieces of advice to women aiming for the top.

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    Books by Cat Cora:

    Cat Cora’s Classics With A Twist: Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes

    On the wildly popular show Iron Chef America, Cat Cora uses her instincts to transform random ingredients into exciting creations on a moment’s notice. In this book, she turns her eye to some of our most popular dishes to make them faster, fresher, and lighter. These are the swift meals that Cat relies on when she comes home from work to cook for her own family: Greek-Style Nachos, Grilled Chili-Lime Flank Steak Soft Tacos, Crispy Baked Fish Stix with Mustard Dipping Sauce, Quick Chicken Curry with Peas, and Sour-Cherry-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes. In dishes like Baked “Fried” Calamari with Marinara Dipping Sauce and Tex-Mex Tuna Casserole, Cat puts a new spin on old favorites. She updates others, tossing chipotle-spiced croutons into a Caesar salad, or replacing the usual beef in stroganoff with chicken and adding fresh tarragon. Each recipe illustrates Cat’s motto: just because a dish is a classic doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon.




    Cooking From the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals

    As the star of the smash sensation Iron Chef America, Cat Cora is used to improvising exciting dishes on a moment’s notice. In this book she shows you how to do it too, whether you want a spur-of-the-moment supper or a spectacular dinner that doesn’t require spending your whole Saturday in the kitchen.

    Cooking from the Hip is divided into four convenient sections, each with its own appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides, and desserts. You can turn to whichever chapter best suits your needs and mood, knowing that every dish will be simple and special.

    Fast: Spicy Chicken and Peach Stir-Fry, Creamy Fettuccine with Sausage, Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes

    Easy: Watermelon Gazpacho, Thai Chicken Salad, White Cheddar Corn Bread

    Fun: Sunday Cheesesteak Sandwiches, Crispy “Fried” Chicken, Lemonade Cookies

    Phenomenal: Mango Margaritas, Pomegranate-Glade Cornish Hens with Wild Rice, Italian Cream Cake

    Cooking from the Hip is all about flexibility. You’ll be able to use what you’ve got on hand without being afraid to substitute. You’ll learn how to cut down on cooking steps, combine just a few ingredients in inventive ways, pull in leftovers, and wow your family and friends.




    Cat Cora’s Kitchen: Favorite Meals for Family and Friends

    What could be better than family and friends gathered around a table laden with laughter and good food? The Food Network’s Cat Cora is the perfect companion in the kitchen to help create meals and memories to share and remember. With recipes inspired by Cat’s Greek heritage and her roots in the American South, honed by her experiences in restaurants in France and California, Cat Cora’s Kitchen shines with simplicity and flavor. Organized by menu, these dishes tempt palates with specialties such as freshly baked Spana-kopita, the traditional Greek favorite of spinach, dill, and feta in pastry, and savory chicken stew, redolent of wine, garlic, and cinnamon. Desserts are also not-to-be-missed, with treats such as the Orange-Scented Almond Cookies or an unusual rolled version of Baklava. The pantry offers basic recipes for homemade stock and a resource section gives suggestions for finding unusual ingredients. With gorgeous photographs throughout, these approachable, elegant dishes will leave everyone asking for the recipe.




    A Suitcase Surprise for Mommy

    Mommy must travel for business, and Zoran is not happy-he will miss her too much! But what if he gives Mommy one of his special things to take with her so that she will have a part of him with her when she goes?

    Like The Kissing Hand, this story offers a usable and comforting solution for kids and parents to help ease times of separation and show that out of sight does not mean out of mind or heart. Iron Chef and working mom Cat Cora and her son came up with this idea when she had to do her own work travel.

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