 Cat Cora was raised in a small Greek community in Jackson,
Mississippi by a family who held strongly to their Greek and Southern heritage,
which included traditions, celebrations, and food. In the Cora family, it was
common to eat spices from the South, as well as fresh sheep and goat cheeses and
home-cured olives sent by relatives from the island of Skopelos. Both her
grandfather, father, and godfather were restaurateurs and by the time she was
fifteen she had already presented a business plan to them for her very own
restaurant. During college she cooked at an Italian bistro and a private dining
club preparing classical French cuisine. After graduating from college, Cat
followed a dream and backpacked through Europe for four months in search of good
food and wine.
Leaving Mississippi for New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise
physiology and biology under her belt, Cat got the education of her dreams at
The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park. While in New York, she
apprenticed with and then worked for Chef Anne Rozenweig at Arcadia and worked
at the Beekman tavern under Chef Larry Forgione of An American Place.
Her culinary education continued in Europe with apprenticeships with two of
France\'s three-star Michelin chefs: George Blanc and Roger Verge. From George
Blanc of Vonnas, outside of Lyon, she learned a great deal about cuisine of the
French countryside, tolerance, and extreme cooking. With Roger Verge, she
learned not only about cooking great classical French cuisine, but also about
embracing life and living it to the fullest as Roger does.
After returning to New York, Cat worked as a sous chef at The Old Chatham
Shepherding Company under Chef Melissa Kelly before heading west to plant her
roots in Northern California. She was offered the position of Chef de Cuisine in
Napa Valley\'s Bistro Don Giovanni where her knowledge and love of
Italian-inspired cuisine grew.
Cat has been fortunate enough to cook for such luminaries as Jacques Pepin,
Robert Mondavi, Wolfgang Puck, and even Bill Gates. She is also a member of the
Screen Actors Guild and is featured in a documentary called Cats In The Kitchen
by director/producer Scott France about her first James Beard dinner that took
place in April, 2002.
Cat recently appeared on Regis and Kelly for the second time around, The Wayne
Brady Show and Living It Up with Jack and Ali. Cat and her partners at 3 Street
Media and The Cat Cora Show, LLC have developed The Cat Cora Show, a talk show
devoted to food, wine, which Cat will host and produce. Cats first published
cookbook was called Cat Coras Kitchens and she is currently working on a second
one titled Under The Olive Tree.
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