In my last post, I revealed how much fun it was working side by side with chef Cat Cora at Macy's Union Square. Unlike many other celebrity chefs and media personalities, she has very few catch phrases and does not sell hundreds of products on QVC. I do not begrudge chefs that do that, but that is just not Cat's thing.
(Here she poses with my youngest culinary mentee, Henri Lite.)
Cat told us that she was called to compete on the TV show Iron Chef in 2005 with just two weeks to prepare! Back then, she was the only female Food Network Chef with the skills to compete. Cat is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, one of the top culinary schools in the U.S. She had apprenticed in France and was an executive chef in California for many years to great acclaim. As a chef, she was incredibly accomplished, as a competitor, she had no idea how it would go! She won "Battle Potato" and has gone on to compete nearly 30 times with just 12 losses. Incredible!
The show takes 6 hours to shoot and is MUCH more "crazy and chaotic in real life", Cat said. The cooking is in real time, but with prep and pre and post filming, it is a long day. They have 4 or 5 different "secret ingredient" items that they know of in advance. They do not know which one will be selected until it is revealed on the show. Cat's strategy is that, knowing the possible ingredients, she selects a regional style, such as "Greek" and then inserts the chosen item. That strategy has won her many battles.
Be sure and check out her new cook book at http://www.catcoracooks.com/ and I will keep you posted on any word of her upcoming show on Oprah's new network.
One last fun image. I was organizing my fridge on Saturday to make room for my gorgeous produce from the new Marinwood Community Farmer's Market (located 4 blocks from my house!) and I noticed something really funny. I had 3 containers with food made by 3 world renowned chefs from my stage events with them; Crispy Prosciutto Bits made by Chef Michael Chiarello, Mushroom Conserva made by Chef Thomas Keller and Pineapple, grilled by Cat Cora!
My humble fridge is brimming with pride!
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