Cathy Whims | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1956 (age 66–67) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970s–present |
Cathy Whims (born 1956) is an American chef and restaurateur in Portland, Oregon. She has been a James Beard Foundation Award finalist six times. The restaurants she has owned in Portland include Genoa, Nostrana, and the pizzeria Oven and Shaker.
Cathy Whims, the daughter of Harold Carter Whims Jr. and Ann Virginia Thomas (née Thomas) Whims, was born in 1956 [1] and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. [2]
Whims' mother was "from the Julia Child–era school" of cooking, and Whims has said she "started cooking because it was my passion". [3] Whims has been influenced by Italian-born cooking writer Marcella Hazan and French chef and restaurateur Madeleine Kamman. [3] Whims studied with Hazan in Venice in 1998, [4] and later worked in restaurants in Italy's Langhe region. [5]
Early in her career, Whims was the bread-and-pastry chef in a local natural-food restaurant; she catered private dinners in Chapel Hill and later worked at kitchens in the San Francisco Bay Area. [2] She relocated to Portland in 1979 and immediately began working at Produce Row Café. [6] Whims served as a prep cook at the Italian restaurant Genoa, [6] and she later became executive chef. After eighteen years at the restaurant, she became a co-owner of the business, which was credited "for bringing fine-dining to Portland", [3] [5] before it closed in 2014. [7]
Whims opened several restaurants in Portland, including Nostrana (2005–present), [8] Hamlet (2015–2017), [9] [10] and the pizzeria/bar Oven and Shaker (2011–present). [3] [11] Nostrana serves classic Italian cuisine and has been described as "Portland's capital of the Negroni". [12] In 2015, Portland Monthly named Hamlet one of Portland's best restaurants. [10] Oven and Shaker specializes in Neapolitan pizza and was named a "best new pizza place" by Food & Wine . [13]
In 2017, Whims served as Oregon's ambassador for the James Beard Foundation's Smart Catch program, which promotes sustainable seafood practices. [14] She opened the 40-seat European wine bar Enoteca Nostrana, adjacent to Nostrana, in 2018. [15] [16]
After opening Nostrana, Cathy Whims received six consecutive James Beard Foundation Award nominations for Best Chef: Northwest, [3] [17] each year from 2008 to 2013. [6] [18] She was also nominated for a 2016 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award in the "Home Cooking" category for a story called "Into the Woods", which she co-wrote with Langdon Cook and was published in EatingWell magazine. [19]
Whims won the first "Wild About Game Cook-Off", which was held in Welches, a town about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Portland, with her "Qualgie Con Fiche", a dish consisting of a brace of semi-boneless quail pan-roasted with a fig jam sauce; the dish was accompanied by braised greens, polenta, and a glass of Three Rivers 1999 Syrah. [20]
Portland Monthly's Benjamin Tepler has described Whims as "the unofficial doyenne of Italian cooking" for the Pacific Northwest. [8] Katie Chang of Food Republic wrote; "Whims also helped train and usher in a new generation of talented chefs and restaurateurs ... whom many credit with cementing Portland's status as a world-class dining destination". [21] Her recipes have been published in cookbooks and a variety of other publications such as Epicurious, [22] [23] The Seattle Times , [24] and The Wall Street Journal . [25]
Whims is married and lives in Portland, Oregon. [26] Her partner David West co-owns Nostrana and Enoteca Nostrana. [27] [28] [29] She has described herself as a "born-again Italian". [21] Whims has a sister who also works in the restaurant industry. [3]
Following her mentor Hazan's death in 2013, Whims commemorated her by creating a special tribute menu at Nostrana. [30] Nostrana's menu has featured recipes that were inspired by Hazan, as well as dessert recipes Whims learned from American chef, baker, and writer Nancy Silverton. [31]
Mario Francesco Batali is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and New Haven, Connecticut. Batali has appeared on the Food Network, on shows such as Molto Mario and Iron Chef America, on which he was one of the featured "Iron Chefs". In 2017, the restaurant review site Eater revealed multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against Batali and, in March 2019, he sold all his restaurant holdings.
Elizabeth Falkner is an American chef and restaurateur. She has appeared as a competitor and a judge on reality television cooking competitions, and she is a Top Chef television series alum.
Oven and Shaker is a restaurant serving Neapolitan pizza, located in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States. The base of the pizza is Neapolitan and the company specializes in exotic toppings such as pork belly, roasted corn, mascarpone, poblano peppers, juicy blackberries, peaches, goat cheese, and arugula.
Bluehour was a Mediterranean restaurant and bar located in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon, United States. The business began operating in September 2000. Bruce Carey and Joe Rogers co-owned the business with Kenny Giambalvo, who also served as an executive chef until 2011.
Touché Restaurant and Bar, or simply Touché, was an Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States. Established by Frank Ernandes in 1995, the restaurant was housed in a former fire station and became known for its wood-fired pizzas and pasta.
Nostrana is an Italian restaurant and pizzeria in southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. Cathy Whims opened the restaurant in 2005 and serves as chef and owner. Nostrana serves classic Italian cuisine and has been dubbed "Portland's capital of the Negroni". The restaurant has received a generally positive reception, especially for its pizzas and happy hour menu. In 2018, Whims opened the European wine bar Enoteca Nostrana next door to the restaurant.
Roman Candle Baking Co., or simply Roman Candle, was a bakery and pizzeria–restaurant in the Richmond neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Duane Sorenson opened Roman Candle in 2013, with a menu offering wood-fired pizza and other Italian cuisine, including sandwiches, breads, green salads, pastries, and baked potatoes. Dan Griffin and Joshua McFadden served as the baker and chef, respectively. The bakery started supplying select menu items to Sorenson's Stumptown Coffee Roasters locations in late 2015. Roman Candle received a generally positive reception, with the pizzas and kouign-amann receiving the most praise. The restaurant closed in April 2018 for renovations, ahead of a rebrand as a gluten-free and vegan cafe called Holiday, which Sorenson launched one month later.
Davis Street Tavern was a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. Christopher Handford, chef Gabriel Kapustka, and Handford's cousin Blake Smith opened the restaurant serving American cuisine in 2008. The building that housed it was previously a bakery. Kapustka left in 2010, after being bought out by partners. Subsequent executive chefs were Scott Shampine and Katy Jane Millard. The restaurant hosted an annual supper celebrating Robert Burns. In 2012, Davis Street Tavern and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association led an effort by industry groups to overturn the U.S. Department of Labor's rules prohibiting gratuity sharing with kitchen staff. The restaurant closed in September 2016.
Ned Ludd was a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's King neighborhood, in the United States. Established in 2008, the restaurant was owned by chef Jason French. It served Pacific Northwest cuisine.
Ox is an Argentine steakhouse in Portland, Oregon's Eliot neighborhood, in the United States.
Genoa was an Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Housed in the Genoa Building, the restaurant closed permanently in 2014. Laurie Wolf said Genoa "was at the forefront of Portland's changing food scene".
Portobello Vegan Trattoria was an Italian restaurant specializing in plant-based cuisine in Portland, Oregon's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, in the United States.
Pazzo Ristorante, or simply Pazzo, was an Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.
Sunshine Tavern was a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Coquine is a restaurant located in the Mount Tabor neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The restaurant serves French-inspired food made from ingredients purchased from local farms as well as Stumptown Coffee.
Pizza Jerk is a pizzeria with three locations in Portland, Oregon. Tommy Habetz opened the original restaurant in 2015.
The American city of Portland, Oregon has been recognized for its pizza culture and establishments.
Virtuous Pie is a pizza chain based in Vancouver, Canada. The business has locations in Portland, Oregon, Toronto, and Victoria, British Columbia.
Jacqueline is a seafood restaurant serving Pacific Northwest cuisine in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant was established in 2016 and has an aquatic theme.
Paladin Pie is a Dungeons & Dragons-themed pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.
Name, Birth Date, Birth County, Parent1 Name, Parent2 Name
