Catherine 'Cat' Cora
[1] (born April 3,1967) is an American professional chef best known for her featured role as an "Iron Chef" on the Food Network television show Iron Chef America
.
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CAT CORA TICKETS
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Biography
Cora was born and raised in a
Greek community in
Jackson, Mississippi.
[2] Her grandfather and father were both restaurateurs. When she was fifteen, she brought a business plan to her father and grandfather, knowing they could help her.
Cat was inspired by
Julia Child,
Barbara Tropp,
M. F. K. Fisher, and her grandmother, Alma. They all showed her what it took to be a chef. Her cuisine is a blend of her Greek and
Southern roots like her favorite dish kota kapama (Greek chicken with tomato and oil sauce), Garlic
Couscous, and slow-cooked lamb shanks with
feta salsa verde.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology and Biology at
the University of Southern Mississippi, she enrolled at the
Culinary Institute of America in
Hyde Park,
New York.
[3] Cora has also appeared on
Simplify Your Life
. She was also a co-host of the Food Network show
Kitchen Accomplished
. She has also coined the term
Hellasian
, referring to a
fusion cuisine combining Greek and Asian cooking. She is the only female
Iron Chef in its franchise history (including the Japanese version of
Iron Chef
). At the end of every
Iron Chef America
competition, she shares a shot of
ouzo with her team.
In January 2005, Cora co-founded Chefs For Humanity
[4], which describes itself as "a grassroots coalition of chefs and culinary professionals guided by a mission to quickly be able to raise funds and provide resources for important emergency and humanitarian aid, nutritional education, and hunger-related initiatives throughout the world."
[5] She has also participated in charity wine auctions held by Auction
Napa Valley.
[6]
In 2006, she was hired as a paid spokesperson for
InSinkErator Evolution series
garbage disposals.
[7] In partnership with 3 Street Media, she is developing
The Cat Cora Show
, a talk show devoted to food and wine which she will produce and host.
Cora is also Executive Chef for
Bon Appétit
magazine
[8] and a
UNICEF spokesperson
[9]. In March 2006, Cora was the
Grand Marshal for Hal and Mal's St. Paddy's Parade in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi.
[10]. In the September 2006 issue of
FHM
, Cora was featured in the cooking section, where she demonstrated various recipes using items purchased from a
convenience store. Cat Cora also belongs to Macy's Culinary Councils, amongst
Tyler Florence,
Rick Bayless, and others. She has worked as an entertainer for
The Olivia Companies, a travel company catering to the
lesbian market.
[11]. She has purchased a
Salvador Dalí print at auction, which she describes as her "first piece of true artwork."
[12]
Cora was a winner of the
Bon Appétit American Food and Entertaining Awards for 2006. In 2008, she was awarded the Hero Visibility Award by the
Human Rights Campaign.
It was announced in Spring, 2009 that Cora will be partnering with the
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL in a new restaurant venture, Kouzzina. The restaurant will be set to open in the Fall of 2009, and will be located at
Disney's BoardWalk Inn, in the former Spoodles venue. The restaurant soft opened on August 15, 2009.
Personal Life
Cora is married to Jennifer Cora. They live in Santa Barbara, California, with their sons Zoran and Caje.
[13] In March 2009, Cora revealed that both she and Jennifer were pregnant with sons; the boys would be born three months apart in 2009. Cat reported that all four children have the same sperm donor.
[14] Additionally, Cora and her wife were surrogates for each other's embryos. Jennifer gave birth to Thatcher Julius on Saturday, April 4.
[15] Cat gave birth to Nash Lemuel on Sunday, July 19.
[16]
Books
- Cat Cora’s Kitchen: Favorite Meals for Family and Friends
(2004). ISBN 0-8118-3998-2. Co-authored with Ann Krueger Spivack. Photography by Maren Caruso.
- Cooking From the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals
(2007). ISBN 0-6187-2990-9. Co-authored with Ann Krueger Spivack.
- Under the Olive Tree
(in development) [17]
References
- Yancey, Kitty Bean. "'Iron Chef' Cat Cora is out of the bag", ''USA Today'', March 31, 2006.
- Yancey, Kitty Bean. "What's cookin' with 'Iron Chef' Cat Cora", ''USA Today'', April 5, 2006.
- Food Network profile
- http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/about.html Chefs For Humanity: About Us
- Chefs For Humanity: Home page
- http://www.napavintners.com/auctions/ThursEvents.asp Auction Napa Valley
- Rovito, Rich. "Elevating the garbage disposal", ''The Business Journal of Milwaukee'', July 28, 2006.
- Cat Cora Named Executive Chef of Bon Appétit Magazine, PR Newswire, August 9, 2006.
- "Chefs for Humanity president Cat Cora joins UNICEF as spokesperson", UNICEF, January 20, 2006.
- Lucas, Sherry. "Iron Chef to lead Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade", ''The Clarion-Ledger'', January 1, 2006
- The Olivia Companies
- Rose, Lacey. kora-money_cx_lr_money06_0214kora.html The Chef: Cat Cora, ''Forbes'', February 14, 2006.
- "Chef steeling herself for TV's Iron Chef competition", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', April 1, 2005.
- Cat Cora and Wife Each Pregnant With a Boy Celebrity Baby Blog, March 9, 2009
- http://celebrity-babies.com/2009/04/06/cat-and-jennifer-cora-welcome-son-thatcher-julius/
- http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/07/ok-exclusive-cat-cora-welcomes-a-baby-boy/
- All American Talent & Celebrity Network