 |
|
|
|
|
Chef Cat Cora was raised in Jackson, Mississippi by a family who held strongly to their Greek and Southern heritages. "I was eating fresh sheep and goat cheeses, home-cured olives sent by my relatives from the island of Skopelos, and spices of the South. Believe it or not it made for a great combo." Her grandfather, father, and godfather were restaurateurs and by the time she was 15 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, Cat traveled to nine European countries for four months to experience their cuisines and wines.
Leaving Mississippi for New York with a B.S. degree in exercise physiology and a minor in nutrition/ biology under her belt, Cat graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America. While in New York, she worked with two celebrity chefs, Anne Rosenzweig of Arcadia and Chef Larry Forgione of An American Place.
The culinary education would continue in Europe with apprenticeships to two of France's three-star Michelin chefs: Georges Blanc and Roger Verge. Georges Blanc of Vonnas, outside of Lyon, she learned a great deal about the cuisine of the French countryside, tolerance, and extreme cooking. With Roger Verge, she learned not only about cooking great classical French cuisine, she says, but also about "embracing life and living it to the fullest as Roger does."
Cat returned to New York and a sous chef position at The Old Chatham Sheepherding Company under Chef Melissa Kelly, now owner/chef of Primo in Maine. Next she went out west, as Chef de Cuisine in Napa Valley's Bistro Don Giovanni.
"I noticed the similarities in the cuisines of Southern Italy and Greece, like pine nuts, currants and cinnamon and I found that I feel very comfortable cooking Italian food." She also oversaw the harvest and pressing of their olives and has learned much about food and wine pairing. "That's where I cut my teeth, so to speak, as a chef," she says. "I learned a tremendous amount and it prepared me for the culinary journey I embarked on with Chef Michael Chiarello, of Tra Vigne in Napa valley and NapaStyles internet company, at Postino."
Since the opening of Postino, the restaurant has received excellent reviews. Cat has also taught classes at cooking schools in and around San Francisco. She was featured in Diablo Magazine as one of the "13 best chefs in the East Bay." One of Cat's most recent accomplishments is becoming the Contra Costa Times newest food columnist with a syndicated column called "Cooking From The Hip." Cat is currently working on a cookbook.
|
 |
|
|
