Catherine Ann Cora is an American professional chef, television personality, business person, and cookbook author. She is best known for her featured role as an "Iron Chef" on '' Iron Chef America''Yancey, Kitty Bean
"'Iron Chef' Cat Cora is out of the bag"
'' USA Today'', March 31, 2006. and as co-host of '' Around the World in 80 Plates''.

Early life and education

Cora was born in Jackson, Mississippi, the daughter of Virginia Lee (née Brothers) and Spiro "Pete" Cora. Her father was of Greek descent (her paternal grandparents were from Skopelos, Greece). Her grandfather and father were both restaurateurs. When she was 15 years old, she brought a business plan to her father and grandfather, knowing they could help her. After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology and Biology from the University of Southern Mississippi, she enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where she graduated in 1995.

Television and entertainment career

Cora made her TV debut in 1999 as co-host with chef

Rocco DiSpirito Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American chef and reality television personality based in New York City, known for starring in the program '' The Restaurant''. Early life and education DiSpirito was born in Queens, New York. He gr ...

of Food Network’s ''Melting Pot.'' In 2001, Cora appeared on the documentary television series, ''My Country, My Kitchen,'' in the episode ''Greece, Date Plate.'' She appeared on the television series ''Simplify Your Life'' (2002); and was a co-host of the Food Network show '' Kitchen Accomplished'' (2004). Cora made television history in 2005 as the first female Iron Chef, joining

Bobby Flay Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's ...

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; and Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and N ...

and

Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff ''Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto received practical training in sush ...

on the first season of Food Network's ''Iron Chef America'', spending 10 seasons on the show. In 2008, she had a voice role for the video game '' Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine.'' Cora is the co-host of '' Around the World in 80 Plates'', an American reality competition show that premiered on May 9, 2012 on the Bravo cable TV network. Cora co-hosted the 2017 FOX reality cooking series ''

My Kitchen Rules ''My Kitchen Rules'' (often abbreviated as ''MKR'') is an Australian competitive cooking game show broadcast on the Seven Network since 2010. The show is currently hosted and judged by chef Manu Feildel, who has appeared in every season of the ...

''. Cora competed in the 2021 Second Annual ''Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions'' on the Food Network, narrowly losing to

Michael Voltaggio Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

Restaurants

In 2008, Cora opened ''Cat Cora's Que'' (CCQ), a restaurant in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...

. A number of airports across the United States feature ''Cat Cora's Kitchen'' and ''Cat Cora's Gourmet Markets'' which were opened in 2011 and 2012, including at George Bush International Airport (IAH) in Houston,

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middl ...

(SFO),

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...

(ATL), and

Salt Lake City International Airport Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-min ...

(SLC). The eponymous ''Cat Cora's Kitchen'', a bar and lounge-style restaurant, opened at Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport in April 2011. Later in 2011, a Cat Cora's Kitchen was opened in Terminal E of the Bush Intercontinental Airport. Cora operated ''Kouzzina by Cat Cora'' at Disney's Boardwalk Resort at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, which closed on September 30, 2014. Cora opened ''The Ocean Restaurant'' at the

S.E.A. Aquarium The Marine Life Park is a part of Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa, situated in southern Singapore. The 8-hectare (20-acre) park houses two attractions, the S.E.A. Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark, and featured the largest oceanarium ...

Resorts World Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa ( abbreviation: RWS) is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, which is located off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions within RWS include one of Singapore's two casinos, a Universal Studios Sing ...

off

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in February 2013. The 63 seat restaurant is inside the world's largest

oceanarium An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks. First ma ...

. Since 2016, she has a partnership with

Aramark Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United S ...

, providing dining options in businesses, universities, schools, hospitals and sports stadiums under the names ''Olilo'' and ''Wicked Eats''. As of 2022, there are more than 500 ''Olilo'' locations in the United States. She is Executive Chef for ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

'' magazine.

Active

Closed

Partnerships and business

Her first cookbook, ''Cat Cora's Kitchen'' (2004), was inspired by her Greek heritage and Southern roots, and contains numerous recipes that were her family's favorites while she was growing up. Her partnerships with various corporations include:

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, when in 2008 they opened Cat Cora's Que (CCQ), a restaurant in

; Disney, when in 2010 they launched a series of

webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...

s called

The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora ''The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora'' is a cooking and comedy web series that starred chef Cat Cora and The Muppets, released in 2010. In September 2010, Cat Cora, alongside The Muppets characters Fozzie Bear, and Angelo appeared on the American ...

; and a number of airports across the United States ''Cat Cora's Kitchen'' and ''Cat Cora's Gourmet Markets'' were opened in 2011 and 2012 (including George Bush International Airport in Houston,

, and

). In 2006 she was hired as a paid spokesperson for

InSinkErator InSinkErator is an American company and brand name known for producing instant hot water dispensers and food waste disposal systems, generally called "garbage disposals" or "garbage disposers". History Architect John W. Hammes founded the comp ...

Evolution series

garbage disposal A garbage disposal unit (also known as a waste disposal unit, garbage disposer, garburator etc.) is a device, usually electrically powered, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food ...

s. In June 2010, she joined

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

working with her ''Chefs Move To Schools'' campaign. In 2011 she launched her own line of cookware in conjunction with Starfrit, Canada's leading purveyor of food preparation products. In the September 2006 issue of ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'', Cora was featured in the cooking section, where she demonstrated various recipes using items purchased from a

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ti ...

. Cat Cora also belongs to Macy's Culinary Councils, along with

Tyler Florence Tyler Florence (born March 3, 1971) is a chef and television host of several Food Network shows. He graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of Johnson & Wales University in 1991. He was later given an ...

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

, and others. She has worked as an entertainer for The Olivia Companies, a travel company catering to the lesbian market. In October 2014, Cora launched her own line of hummus at

H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of Texas, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an ...

grocery stores in Texas.

Charity

She was a

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

spokesperson. She has participated in charity wine auctions held by Auction

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. In January 2005, following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Cora co-founded ''Chefs For Humanity.'' The organization ''Chefs For Humanity'' 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."

Awards

*Bon Appetit magazine's 2006 Teacher of the Year Award *On July 12, 2015 Cora was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs® (AAC®) Hall of Fame by The

American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was established in 1929 in New York City and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America. It was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Soc ...

, becoming the first female chef ever to receive this recognition.

Personal life

In March 2006, Cora was the

Grand Marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. The following ...

for Hal and Mal's St. Paddy's Parade in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. Cora was arrested for driving under the influence in 2012. Following a collision in which she rear-ended the car in front of her, the other driver reported to the officers that she believed Cora was drunk. Cora was placed under arrest and given a breathalyzer test that revealed her BAC to be .20 and .19, over twice the legal limit of .08. She pled no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 3-years probation, $2,386 in fines, and a suspended 120 day jail sentence. She released a statement after her arrest, saying: "I deeply regret my decision to drive that evening after my designated driver became unavailable. I learned a very important lesson from this experience and take full accountability for my actions. This will never happen again." Cora married her longtime partner Jennifer in June 2013, and the couple have four sons together conceived via in vitro fertilization. In 2015, they filed for divorce which was finalized in 2016. In 2017, Cora began dating record producer executive

Nicole Ehrlich Nicole Ehrlich is an American producer, director, and women's rights activist. She is the SVP of Creative and Celebrity Relations, and has been the recipient of Grammy, MTV VMA and Emmy Awards. Ehrlich has previously worked for Extasy Records, Ge ...

. They married on April 21, 2018, in

Islamorada, Florida Islamorada (also sometimes Islas Morada) is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands— Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plant ...

. On April 26, 2021, Nicole Ehrlich filed for divorce from Cora.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website

foodnetwork.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cora, Cat American people of Greek descent American television chefs American cookbook writers Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni Food Network chefs Lesbian entertainers LGBT people from Mississippi Living people Writers from Jackson, Mississippi University of Southern Mississippi alumni Women cookbook writers American women chefs American women non-fiction writers Iron Chef contestants 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople Bon Appétit people People from Santa Barbara, California 1967 births 21st-century LGBT people LGBT chefs