Cat Cora is a world renowned chef. In November 2006, Bon Appetit Magazine bestowed her with their Teacher of the Year Award. Later that month, she was named Executive Chef of the Magazine. In 2005, she made television history on Food Network’s Iron Chef America, as the first and only female Iron Chef. Outside of the kitchen, Cat is known for her philanthropy. She is President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity, the not-for-profit organization, which gathers the culinary community together to raise funds and provide resources for important emergency, educational and hunger-related causes. She is also the nutritional spokesperson for UNICEF. Cat recently visited Toronto to participate in Sante: Toronto International Wine Festival’s 10th anniversary.
Q: What is your fondest memory from your family kitchen?
A: Enjoying my grandmother’s Italian Cream Cake on birthdays and special occasions.
Q: What kitchen aromas bring back fond memories?
A: Lamb roasting. Cinnamon. Sauteed garlic.
Q: Who is your favourite cook?
A: My mother’s mother. She knew how to infuse each and every dish she prepared with love.
Q: What is your favourite food to cook?
A: I really enjoy preparing and eating lamb chops.
Q: Do you use cookbooks?
A: I usually cook from the hip with ingredients I have on hand and I create as I go. I don’t use cookbooks too often.
Q: What kitchen gadget can’t you live without?
A: My garlic press or my Vita-Mix blender that can take on anything you throw into it.
Q: What traditions from your background involving food do you partake in?
A: I prepare a feast for Greek Easter. In the summer I make homemade peach ice cream. At Christmas, I bake Greek cookies. And I love making big batches of my grandmother’s homemade hot, sweet, mustard.
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Marcy Cornblum is a freelance journalist. After 25 years of celebrity-filled adventures, she is using her experiences to enlighten others in understanding the media. Reach her at mediasavvy@pathcom.com.
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