Chef Cat Cora ’95 is a world-renowned chef, author, restaurateur, television host, philanthropist, and proud mother of six. A Jackson, MS, native, she graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and went on to cook at two three-Michelin-star restaurants in France. She made history being crowned the first female Iron Chef and the first female inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. She pioneered the Food Network and shattered glass ceilings in the culinary industry.
Cora is Greek American and trailblazed the Mediterranean food space. She has opened more than 18 restaurants across the United States and globally, a culinary empire that highlights her platform of health, wellness, and sustainability. She holds a degree in nutrition and physiology and has cooked for the USA Olympic Team.
Outside of the kitchen, Cora is president and founder of Chefs for Humanity, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing hunger worldwide, as well as ambassador for Little Kitchen Academy, a Montessori-style culinary school for children and teens. She has her own line of kitchen products and tools available through Amazon.
Cora is the recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Chef Cora appeared on Netflix’s Next Gen Chef series filmed at the Culinary Institute of America.
Chef Cat Cora majored in Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.