The Catfish Institute held its monthly board meeting in Greenwood on Wednesday, and the highlight was a dinner featuring a cooking demonstration with celebrity chef Cat Cora at the Viking Training Center.
Earlier this year, Cora teamed with The Catfish Institute and Viking Range Corp. to become the new spokeswoman for U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.
Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute, said the organization is fortunate to have the talent and exposure that Cora brings to the table.
“She's from Mississippi, and she understands catfish, and she's also a star on the Food Network. What better opportunity could we have?” Barlow said.
Cora, a Jackson native, is well-known for her roles as the only female Iron Chef on the Food Network's hit show, “Iron Chef America,” and as the executive chef of Bon Appetit magazine.
During her visit, Cora spoke about her latest cookbook, “Cooking from the Hip,” and her work on “Iron Chef America.” She says she's proud to be part of the show.
“I love what it means to pop culture, what it means to young girls and what it means to aspiring chefs, male or female,” Cora said.
Between her television appearances, working on a new cookbook and her various other projects, Cora stays quite busy, but she said she has “no complaints.”
“I love what I do. I have an extremely exciting career,” she said. “The only downside is not spending more time with my family.”
The Catfish Institute hosts a board meeting in a different location every month, but the event in Greenwood was unique, not only because of Cora's appearance, but because it included board members' families as well.
Guests stayed at The Alluvian, and while the board members toured the Viking manufacturing plants during the day, their spouses enjoyed classes at the Viking Cooking School and spa treatments at The Alluvian Spa.
Wednesday night the group gathered at the Viking Training Center for Cora's cooking demonstration. They were treated to a dinner of squash blossoms with goat cheese and truffle sauce, arugula with prosciutto-wrapped figs and kasseri, grilled U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish with sweet corn zabaglione and individual chocolate budino with ginger creme anglaise.
Cora said it's not a stretch to find catfish in upscale cuisine.
“Catfish has a reputation of being only good in southern food, but it's a versatile fish,” Cora said. “Catfish can be light, flaky and fresh.”
For more information or recipes featuring U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, visit www.USCatfish.com.
