Chef of the Month

The first woman Iron Chef has a word of advice for every young person who wants to be a chef- get a job in a restaurant. “Not a fast food, or take out place, but a 'white tablecloth' restaurant. Learn what it's like to work on Thanksgiving, or Mother's Day, or New Year's Eve, when your friends and family are celebrating. Try all of the jobs… bartender, cocktail waitress, server, followed by the jobs in the kitchen. Then, if you still want to be a chef, do it. Persevere. Keep on. It will be worth it.”

Cat knows. She's done it all from front end to back in her 14 years in the business, in the United States and Europe. Starting out in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, in Greek cafes and restaurants owned by her extended family, she then apprenticed in Europe with two of France's three-star Michelin chefs: George Blanc and Roger Verge. From George Blanc, outside of Lyon she learned about cuisine of the French countryside. With Roger Verge she learned about classical French cuisine. After returning to New York, Cat worked as a sous chef at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company under Chef Melissa Kelly, then headed west to Napa.

“I got out of my comfort zone and broadened my horizons. I was used to a laid back Greek kitchen in America, and the formal kitchens of France were a vastly different experience.”

As a purist, Cat is constantly thinking… and feeling… about seasonality and using peak ingredients at the height of their greatness. “If you can capture the purity, honesty and essence of food, then you've won,” says the woman who has won Iron Chef competitions consistently.

Her love of food was instilled at an early age, but it was meeting Julia Child at a book signing in Natchez that set Cat on the path that has brought her fame. “I had to see her, I had to meet her. I so wanted a career in cooking. And Julia was amazing. She spent a lot of time with me and she pointed me to the CIA, the Harvard of cooking schools. The next day, I applied.”

From the CIA it was off to Europe, but it wasn't until Iron Chef that Cat Cora learned about the subtlety and precision of Japanese knives, along with the elegance, style and quality of Japanese tableware. “My knives are the real tools of my trade. I'm petite and I have small hands, so I like lighter knives. And the Japanese knives I have fit in my hand like a glove. They let me work quicker and more efficiently. They are truly an extension of myself… of what I do.. of my passion.”

Now headquartered in Napa California, Cat has become enamored of the knives and tools at Korin including the konro grills. They're the next things she wants to use on the show, followed by some of the Japanese kitchenware, such as the sharkskin wasabi grater that she has seen her fellow Iron Chef, Morimoto use. And don't be surprised if you see some interesting surprises coming soon from Cat Cora…this chef has plans that stretch far beyond the reaches of television. Pretty spectacular for the Greek/Italian girl who cooked at her godfather's restaurant and by her mother's side in Jackson, Mississippi and who let the inspirational Julia Child guide her.

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