From Iron Chef to Mother of Four, Cat Cora proves you can have your cake and eat it, too!

Cat Cora knows food. After all, she made history in 2005 by becoming Iron Chef America’s first and only female chef. Cora has a wildly successful career in the culinary world that includes television appearances, her role as executive chef for Bon Appétit magazine, cookbooks, a presence in the restaurant world and her charity, Chefs for Humanity. And she doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

What is impressive about Cora is her ability to sharpen her knives and move up the culinary ladder. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), located in New York, in 1995. Her time in school was difficult. Many older European professors believed that women didn’t belong in culinary school. “They thought it was still a man’s world,” Cora recalls. “But you persevere through that. I’m pretty stubborn that way.”

Through that tough talk, Cora’s Mississippi accent is disarming and soothing. There’s a sense of comfort about her, which is why so many people invite her into their kitchen through television and cookbooks. The warmth she exudes began with her upbringing, where family came first and food was a main focus of family gatherings.

While her family is Greek Orthodox, it’s typically all-American, Cora says. “It was really boisterous in our house. Everything we did, we did big. It was great growing up in that loud, happy home. My mom especially was the glue; she was very much about sitting at the table together, turning the TV off and not having any distractions.”

It was her mother who gave Cora the direction she needed for her cooking career. By the age of 6, Cora could roll grape leaves and make Greek cookies. And while Cora planned on owning a restaurant one day, her mother suggested otherwise. “It was my mom’s idea for me to go to culinary school. She said, ‘Why don’t you think about working in the back of the house?’ And it just struck a chord. A whole new world opened up to me.”

Pair that with a little push from Julia Child and Cora was well on her way to CIA. Cora met Child at a book signing and Child took the time to disperse advice on culinary schools. Cora later had a chance to meet with Child in her Cambridge, MA, home. “We had lunch and talked, and it all kind of came full circle for me,” Cora recalls.

When Cora was at CIA, the Food Network, which was to become a huge part of Cora’s career, was just starting to gain popularity. But for chefs in school, says Cora, it wasn’t about being on television, it was about working in restaurants, opening a restaurant, writing cookbooks and building a résumé. However, about five years after graduation, Cora did a local morning show in San Francisco. “I said, ‘Wow, I love this!’ I got bit by the bug and got a lot of compliments on the segment [so] I sent the tape to Food Network. It landed in the right hands and a couple of weeks later, they called.” A month after her initial guest spot, she was called back to co-host a show with Rocco DiSpirito called Melting Pot. “It happened very fast,” Cora says, acknowledging, “I was very lucky.”

When it came time for Iron Chef America, the same perseverance she displayed at CIA, as well as in her apprenticeships in France, drove her to compete and win. “I really pushed myself hard. I knew coming in as a woman that I’d have to be on par with these guys,” she says. “I got in there and was able to cook as hard and fast as the guys. I earned respect from chefs in general, but also a lot of the top male chefs.”

Cora set a phenomenal example for female chefs. “That’s been my career. I was always in the trenches with the guys. Women can cook as well as men can and I think me becoming Iron Chef proved that,” she says.

The importance of family seems to be at the heart of Cora’s career. She partnered with Macy’s to open CCQ (Cat Cora’s Que) and with Disney to open Kouzzina (Greek for “Kitchen”) at Walt Disney World’s Boardwalk Resort. Both restaurants lend themselves to family-style dining.

“I can relate to that, being a mom, being very close with my family,” Cora says. “It’s really timely in this day and age. We need to get together more; we need more family-style eating.” Despite traveling a lot, when she is at her California home, she and her family spend quality time together. “At home, we cook very simple foods like fresh fish, since we’re right on the coast. We just enjoy simple foods – a great hamburger is priceless.”

Cora’s family had two recent additions earlier this year when she and Jennifer, her partner of 10 years, were pregnant at the same time and gave birth just three months apart. Cora, who was pregnant for the first time, gave birth to the couple’s fourth (and, she says, final) son in July. Despite the anticipation that hormones would be rampant during the concurrent pregnancies, Cora says, “It was like being pregnant with your best friend. It was a good time.”

She wants to extend her sense of family and the importance of a home-cooked meal to those who say they can’t cook. “If you can read a recipe, you can cook,” Cora assures. “People fear getting in the kitchen and just starting. I try to walk people through, as if I’m in the kitchen with you. Until you learn how to fly by the seat of your pants, let your hair down and be adventurous, you’re never going to let go of that fear. It’s about taking baby steps.”

She laughs as she recalls her own worst kitchen mistake. When Jennifer was pregnant, she craved clafoutis, a French dessert. “I was rushing and I put it on the temperature I was supposed to and I opened up the oven and it was still loose, so I turned the oven up, and I will never do that with a clafoutis or any kind of custard again! Worst cooking mistake I’ve ever made … literally could have gone to play tennis with it,” she says with a laugh.

Cora is a strong woman who is happiest in the kitchen with her family and has made a career doing something she loves. “That’s so therapeutic for me, which sounds crazy because it’s what I do for a living,” she says. “But when I’m cooking professionally, it’s fast and furious. When I’m home, I can open a bottle of wine with Jennifer, or do homework in the kitchen with our kids [while] I’m on the stove cooking. It’s just a nice family environment. I love the quality time I have with my family.”

Cat Cora’s

Greek Cinnamon Stewed Chicken with Wine and Garlic

(Koto Kapama)

1 chicken (2½ to 3 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (legs, breasts, and thighs)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with 2 tsp. kosher salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 peeled garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

½ cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock or water

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped, plus extra for garnish

1 cup orzo, cooked according to package directions

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

Mix cinnamon, salt and pepper in small bowl and rub chicken pieces on all sides with seasoning.

Mince three garlic cloves and set aside.

Heat olive oil in large 12-inch deep non-stick skillet over high heat.

Add chicken to oil and brown for about four to five minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Lower heat to medium high and add onions and minced garlic. Cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly, until onions have softened and are a rich golden brown. Add wine and scrape bottom of pan to pick up any particles stuck on bottom.

When wine has evaporated, add chicken stock, tomato paste, fresh oregano and remaining two garlic cloves, chopped.

 Return chicken to pan. Liquid should cover about 3/4 of the chicken pieces. Cover and simmer over medium high heat for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. If sauce becomes too thick, thin with a little more stock.

Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve over cooked orzo sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh oregano on top.

Serves 4

For more information

on Cat Cora,

log onto www.catcoracooks.com.  

You can also follow Cat on Twitter (@catcora) and Facebook.