For Katie Lee, cooking wasn’t just a hobby growing up – it was a way of life. Raised in a modest, tight knit West Virginia family, each evening centered around the dinner menu. Eager to get involved, Katie began cooking at the tender age of four, under the guidance of her mentor, Grandma Dora. Using fresh vegetables from her grandpa’s garden and meat from the family’s cattle and pig farms, Katie quickly learned the value of seasonal ingredients.
From food to fashion Katie summarizes her style with her three c’s – casual, comfortable with a touch of couture. She also refers to her culinary approach as “conscious consumption.” She explains, “If you are what you eat, then you should know what you are eating, where it came from and how it was raised.” This philosophy is clearly reflected in her best selling cookbook, The Comfort Table (Simon & Schuster, April 2008).
Many of the classic recipes come directly from her grandma’s kitchen, but with Katie’s special twist. “By using fresh organic ingredients and a delectable variety of vegetables, comfort food doesn’t have to be unhealthy,” she exclaims. “The book also encourages readers to acknowledge that eating is not just about what you serve, but how you make your guests feel.”
Her second book, The Comfort Table: Everyday Occasions (Simon & Schuster) to be released in October 2009 further expands upon this philosophy. The cookbook will feature menus for various celebrations at home (Mother's Day Brunch, Beach Picnic, Fall Harvest Dinner, Retro Cocktail Party, Cinco de Mayo, etc) that take the reader from start to finish offering full menus including appetizers, entrees and dessert. Simple suggestions for décor and ipod playlists complement the theme of the meal to round out the experience, making a night at home an easily elegant occasion.
Katie’s broad culinary experience ranges from hosting the first season of Bravo’s hit reality series, Top Chef, to writing culinary and lifestyle features for an array of magazines. She regularly appears as a Special Correspondent, covering food and fashion for The Early Show, and has served on the Judges panel on the Food Network’s, Iron Chef America. She has been featured in Vogue, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times and on the Oprah Winfrey Show, among others.
Katie received her bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism at Miami University in Oxford Ohio, and also studied in Florence, Italy. In 2004, she returned to her classroom in Italy to teach American students about dining in Tuscany.
Outside of her culinary adventures, Katie sits on the Celebrity Board for Feeding America and is a member of the Junior Committee for New Yorkers for Children. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys spending time in her organic garden, traveling and playing with her two pugs. She resides in MNew York City.
For more information, contact Keleigh Thomas at Sunshine Sachs & Associates at 310.275.3222 or Thomas@sunshinesachs.com.