Cat Cora
Iron Chef, author, host, and restaurateur
Cat Cora is a celebrated world renowned chef, author, restaurateur, television host, philanthropist, and proud mother of six. The Jackson, Mississippi native, who graduated the Culinary Institute of America and went on to cook at two 3-star Michelin restaurants in France, was crowned the first female Iron Chef, and was also the first female inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. She pioneered the Food Network and shattered glass ceilings in the culinary industry.
Cat has opened more than 18 restaurants across the United States and globally, highlighting her platform on health, wellness and sustainability. She has her degree in Nutrition and physiology and pioneered the Mediterranean Lifestyle in the United States. Outside of the kitchen, Cat is the President/Founder of Chefs for Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to reducing hunger worldwide, as well as Ambassador of Little Kitchen Academy, a Montessori-style culinary school for ages 3-teen. Cat most most recently won Fox Network’s competition show “The Real Dirty Dancing” and is a judge on Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions”. Cat received the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama.