WEBVTT
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On Larry King Now.
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Family Food Fight Judge Cat Cora.
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All of these families come with this amazing story
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of whether it's struggle, all the good things,
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the bad things, they bring it all together
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in the kitchen and they cook together,
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but what ends up happening is,
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you see they're cooking from the heart.
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They're bringing, we know the kitchen is the heart
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of the home and so I think people
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love to see that happy ending.
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The times were different back then,
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like they were for so many other professions.
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But, at that time, it was starting to grow.
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More women were being accepted, I happened to be one of them
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so I had a very small group of females in my class.
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Plus.
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I was very lucky to be surrounded, at the time,
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by a lot of great cooks and chefs,
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and I think I always used to say it was in my DNA.
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All next on Larry King Now.
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(upbeat music)
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Welcome to Larry King Now.
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I'm Nick Cannon filling in for Larry King today.
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My guest is the amazing Cat Cora.
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Cat is a world renown chef, author, and mother
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of six boys.
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She made her television debut on The Food Network
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in 1999, she was the first ever female Iron Chef
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on the network's Iron Chef America in 2005.
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She's, since, opened more than 18 restaurants
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throughout the world.
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She's also an author and founder of the non-profit,
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Chefs for Humanity.
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Cat is currently a judge on Family Food Fight,
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alongside Ayesha Curry and Graham Elliot.
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It airs Thursdays on ABC.
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Yeah.
Cat, welcome.
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It is such a pleasure, really.
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Oh my god, Nick.
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It is such a pleasure being with you.
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Thank you for having me on today, awesome.
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I got to hear more about this show
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'cause it sounds fascinating.
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Family Food Fight, was it challenging
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making this show, and then, it's a food competition show,
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so how is it different from the ones
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that we've seen before?
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Well, I mean, I'm so glad and honored
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that I got to be on this show.
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With ABC, I think that, ABC, Endemol Shine North America
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is such a great production company, as well,
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and they created the show with Ayesha Curry,
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who's also an executive producer.
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Chef Curry With The Pot, yeah.
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And a friend, that's right.
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And Graham Elliot, who I've known forever.
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So it was just really cool to be together with them
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and this show is about, it's a multi-cultural,
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it's bringing eight families together
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from all walks of life, bringing their rich traditions
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and heritage and recipes, and it's three family members
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per team, and they come together and they battle it out
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to be America's number one food family.
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And, the possibility of winning $100,000.
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So the stakes are high.
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It's a cool show, I'm super excited
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and I think it's really progressive and innovative
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of ABC to put two females, strong females,
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together to lead a show, as well.
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So, it's pretty awesome.
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That is really exciting.
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And the family dynamic, obviously,
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there's a lot of stuff that can go on.
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Oh yeah.
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Family versus family, family within family,
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do we get to see some real fights?
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Are they really scrapping?
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You get to see some drama, some tears,
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but you also see a lot of laughs, a lot of joy.
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I think the great thing about this show, it's a family show.
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It's something for everybody, so it's a show
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that the whole family can watch.
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And you know, in our atmosphere right now, we need that.
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We need something that spreads peace and love
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and happiness, and of course,
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when you're in a kitchen, emotions run high
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when you're cooking, and especially when you have
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a time limit on you and you're given challenges.
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You're kind of a fish out of water,
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but I think that that's what the great essence
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of this show is.
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Bringing all of those textures and flavors together
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and creating this formula that is so delicious.
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And obviously, you've been on the other side
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of the judging table before and you know
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the pressure of a show like this.
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What is it, really, that you believe
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that just audiences and the world is so fascinated
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with watching people try and fail
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and the tears, the emotion.
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Why are we so enamored with this?
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I think 'cause people can relate to that.
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'Cause I think every day, in kitchens around America,
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trying to get dinner on the table at a certain time
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and feeding your kids and your family
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and trying to create around your busy life,
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I think that it relates to people.
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People relate to that feeling of the emotions
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and the tension of trying to make that happen.
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And I think, also, people wanna see a great story.
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All of these families come with this amazing story
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of, whether it's struggle, all the good things,
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the bad things, they bring it all together
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in the kitchen and they cook together.
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But what ends up happening is,
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you see they're cooking from the heart.
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They're bringing, we know kitchen is the heart of the home,
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and so I think people love to see that happy ending,
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as well.
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Understood, now on a show like this,
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I would definitely fail.
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'Cause I'm horrible in the kitchen.
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I burn peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
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Yeah we gotta do some cooking lessons, Nick.
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I'll give you some cooking lessons.
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Especially being single, it's bad.
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But, I couldn't even imagine being in front of Graham,
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you, Ayesha, and the families.
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The pressure has to be, you're in front of experts
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in this field and to have to be with your family
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and then, I know just pressure is horrible for me,
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but then pressure in a field where you're not
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an expert and you're in front of an expert
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has to be pretty different.
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How do you ease the people in knowing,
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all right, I've been in your shoes before.
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Lights, camera, and all this, but at the end of the day,
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this is something about you and your family
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growing together.
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Well I think that was one of the ways
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that I could empathize with them
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and bring compassion 'cause I've been in front,
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I've been judged doing Iron Chef forever.
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I've stood there in front of judges so many times.
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And sometimes it's great, and sometimes it's not so great.
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And I think that having that understanding
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and that experience before,
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but also bringing my skills of 20 plus years
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to the table and really being able to,
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not only give them really great advice
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and find teaching moments for the families,
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but also give them a little nurturing
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and a little love in the same way.
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It's a little bit softer, kind of,
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giving them some critique.
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You would definitely, I'd be crying,
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I can't, please help me, the peanut butter is burning.
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Well how can you burn some peanut butter and jelly?
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You're not even supposed to cook it, at all, exactly.
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And it sounds like you guys have so much fun on the show
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and being on a panel with people that you already know.
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What's it like working with Graham and Ayesha
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and how does the chemistry connect?
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Oh, it was so good.
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Ayesha have become great friends.
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I really lobbied her to get this job
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because I really believed in the show.
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I believed in the premise.
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I actually did some really funny things
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to get Ayesha to be like, all right Cat.
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Even though I knew that she has said, so many times,
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so kindly and so graciously,
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that I've inspired her, as well.
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But she is an inspiration to me.
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She has the great family, as well.
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Food and family is everything to me.
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It is to her, as well, and so I think that we connected
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on that level, and I think that she's just a really
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amazing cook, as well.
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And she'll say, I'm a home cook,
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and she's great at it.
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She's got great restaurants and so,
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I think there was really that connection immediately for us.
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We really hit it off immediately
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and then became friends over the time of the show.
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Are you talking about two powerful women
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doing it together and coming,
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she seems to have a dynamic personality,
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from what we can see and yours, as well.
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Super fun, super dynamic, super fun.
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We had a lot of fun on the set.
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I think it was really, she really wanted two women
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to really come in and be a judge and be a host
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and I think she pushed for that a lot,
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which I admire her for.
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And then Graham I've known for a long time
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and we've been in this industry a long time together
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and he's like a brother, so it was just a real,
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I think a love-fest with us.
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We're a family now.
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A big love fest.
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A big love fest, big family now, so it's great.
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And I could see this going on for so much longer.
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I wanna dig into more of that female empowerment
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that you speak of when we return.
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When we come back, we dig a little deeper
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with Cat Cora's past and then we'll also
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jump into what made you wanna become a chef,
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how'd you get your big break, all of that good stuff.
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So stay with us.
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This is Larry King Now.
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(upbeat music)
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Welcome back to Larry King Now.
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I'm not Larry King.
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I'm Nick Cannon filling in for the amazing Larry King today
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and my guest is Chef Cat Cora, thank you for doing this.
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I'm doing all right, I'm doing pretty good.
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Yeah, you're doing fantastic.
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I can't believe you've only done, this is your first day.
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Yes.
It's amazing.
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Thank you for being such an amazing guest.
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Thank you.
It's so intriguing.
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Where did your passion for cooking come from?
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You know, it came from my family.
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My father was a grillmeister, so he taught me
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how to smoke meats and grill and marinate
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from an early age.
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And then my mother, who was not Greek,
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but she converted to Greek Orthodoxy
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for my father, taught me how to work with
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grape leaves and filo dough
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and all of these things at an early age.
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So I really learned some good stuff pretty early.
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Yeah and coming from all different walks of life.
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That's kinda fascinating.
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I was very lucky to be surrounded, at the time,
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by a lot of great cooks and chefs.
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And I think that, I always just say, it was in my DNA.
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And I really just kinda took to it and loved it.
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So what makes a great cook?
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I think you just have to have the passion.
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I think, I always say, if you can read, you can cook.
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Because if you can read a recipe, you can cook.
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Right, you can make it that simple.
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I can read, so.
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I know you can, you're the man,
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so I know that you could definitely cook.
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I think it just takes that wanting to do it
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and wanting to be in the kitchen.
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So it's truly a talent.
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It is a talent, you do have some kind of gifts,
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but I do believe people,
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I've always said I could teach anybody to cook
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and I truly believe that I'm gonna teach you to cook.
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I need help.
All right, we're there.
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And speaking of teaching,
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so culinary school, did that happen for you?
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Yes, yeah.
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So I went to culinary school, first of all,
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back up just a minute, but I met Julia Child years ago.
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She was coming to Natchitoches Mississippi,
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which is not too far from where I live
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to do a book signing, so I said, we gotta go.
265
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I gotta go meet her.
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So you were in love with food that much, even back then.
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I knew, then, I was gonna really,
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really wanted to do this, this was after college,
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and so, we went to Natchitoches.
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I drove with my mom and my grandma, they took me down.
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I waited in the very end of the line with my cookbook,
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her cookbook, 'cause I knew that I might get,
273
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this is before I knew anything about PR (laughing)
274
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or anything, and I said I might get a little bit
275
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more time with her, so I waited at the very end.
276
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And I told her my story, I'm super passionate about cooking,
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I really wanna go to culinary school.
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And she sat down and she was wonderful.
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She sat down and had this whole mentoring moment with me
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where she talked, she said, you pay it forward
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like I'm doing for you right now.
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Just a lot of words of wisdom.
283
00:11:07.550 --> 00:11:09.700
And you must go to the Culinary Institute of America
284
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'cause it's the Harvard of culinary schools,
285
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is what she told me, so I applied the next day.
286
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I said, well that's where I'm gonna go.
287
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And I did, I applied, I got accepted.
288
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Back then, it was much harder to get accepted,
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especially for a female.
290
00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.930
It was harder then?
When I went, my class
291
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was only about four or five women
292
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to 175 men, so it was very tough.
293
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But I think that the times were different back then.
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Like they were for so many other professions.
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But at that time, it was starting to grow.
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More women were being accepted, I happened to be one of them
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so I had a very small group of females in my class.
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But I went.
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After graduation, I actually decided
300
00:11:50.590 --> 00:11:51.880
I was gonna go to France
301
00:11:51.880 --> 00:11:54.100
and I was gonna do two apprenticeships,
302
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or I was gonna do an apprenticeship
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00:11:55.180 --> 00:11:56.530
with a three-star Michelin chef,
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which was very tough in those days, even for men.
305
00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.250
Men and women, both, it was a very scary thing to do,
306
00:12:01.250 --> 00:12:03.800
but I thought, you know what, this is gonna be mine,
307
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I'm gonna have to go for it to really get ahead.
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00:12:06.870 --> 00:12:10.880
And so I sent out letters to, probably, 10 or 12
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00:12:10.880 --> 00:12:13.020
three-star Michelin chefs all over France
310
00:12:13.020 --> 00:12:15.820
and I got 10 rejection letters back.
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00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:17.440
And they even said, this was only in 20 something,
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In French?
They even said,
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we do not allow women in our kitchens,
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you can not come.
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00:12:21.650 --> 00:12:24.820
And so, I know that was only about 20 something years ago.
316
00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:28.740
And so not long ago, and so two amazing chefs
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00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.160
accepted me into their kitchens.
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00:12:31.160 --> 00:12:33.720
That was George Blanc and Roger Verge.
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00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.940
Roger Verge was in Cannes and then George Blanc
320
00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:37.840
was in Vonnas, which is near Leon.
321
00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:39.310
And so, I took both.
322
00:12:39.310 --> 00:12:40.560
I'm like, how can I pass?
323
00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:45.870
George Blanc was a newer, kind of haut cuisine,
324
00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:49.100
which was a newer kind of French cuisine, very light,
325
00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:51.980
healthier, and then Roger Verge was much more
326
00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:54.490
of a classically French chef who still
327
00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:56.870
did the very classic dishes.
328
00:12:56.870 --> 00:13:00.230
So I was like, they're so different, how can I choose?
329
00:13:00.230 --> 00:13:01.100
So I just took both.
330
00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:05.040
And I went and just worked my behind off.
331
00:13:05.040 --> 00:13:07.530
Wow, that's so empowering.
332
00:13:07.530 --> 00:13:09.830
It was so empowering.
333
00:13:09.830 --> 00:13:11.130
It was one of the hardest things
334
00:13:11.130 --> 00:13:12.600
I've ever done in my life.
335
00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.470
To be in a foreign land.
336
00:13:14.470 --> 00:13:16.740
Foreign language, foreign land.
337
00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.760
I was one of the only women in the kitchens, at all.
338
00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:22.630
And so everybody looked at me like,
339
00:13:22.630 --> 00:13:25.210
what is she doing here, when I walked in.
340
00:13:25.210 --> 00:13:27.940
But, you know, I think if you work hard
341
00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:29.550
and if you get into a situation,
342
00:13:29.550 --> 00:13:30.730
and you really prove yourself,
343
00:13:30.730 --> 00:13:33.030
all it is is just really working hard
344
00:13:33.030 --> 00:13:37.187
and stepping up and being fierce about it.
345
00:13:37.187 --> 00:13:39.270
That's what Beyonce says, be fierce.
346
00:13:39.270 --> 00:13:41.174
Be fierce, the Beyonce of the kitchen.
347
00:13:41.174 --> 00:13:42.940
(laughing) That's it.
348
00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:44.870
Be fierce, and so that's what you have to do.
349
00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:46.580
I love it, and then we'll hear more
350
00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:48.770
about Iron Chef, 'cause we gotta get to that.
351
00:13:48.770 --> 00:13:49.950
'Cause I know you got to be fierce
352
00:13:49.950 --> 00:13:52.220
during that process, as well.
Definitely.
353
00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.830
Up next, Cat Cora on life at home
354
00:13:54.830 --> 00:13:57.310
with six boys, plus we get to know her
355
00:13:57.310 --> 00:13:59.910
a little bit better, all about Iron Chef
356
00:13:59.910 --> 00:14:01.410
and then we're gonna do, of course,
357
00:14:01.410 --> 00:14:03.680
a round of If You Only Knew.
358
00:14:03.680 --> 00:14:07.090
Check Cat out on the new ABC show, Family Food Fight.
359
00:14:07.090 --> 00:14:08.000
Be right back.
360
00:14:09.995 --> 00:14:12.200
(upbeat music)
361
00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.010
Welcome back to Larry King Now.
362
00:14:14.010 --> 00:14:16.400
I'm Nick Cannon filling in for Larry today.
363
00:14:16.400 --> 00:14:20.030 line:15%
My guest is the amazing chef Cat Cora.
364
00:14:20.030 --> 00:14:22.190 line:15%
Thank you, again, we're having so much fun.
365
00:14:22.190 --> 00:14:23.270 line:15%
We're just talking
Oh my gosh.
366
00:14:23.270 --> 00:14:24.910 line:15%
In between breaks and everything.
367
00:14:24.910 --> 00:14:27.230 line:15%
So, this is another thing that's fascinating
368
00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:30.070 line:15%
about you, six boys at home?
369
00:14:30.070 --> 00:14:35.070
Yes, we have six boys, ages 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15.
370
00:14:36.150 --> 00:14:40.250
And we, my wife and I, Nicole, we're both from,
371
00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:42.713
we both had wives before.
372
00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:46.640
She had two children that she brought,
373
00:14:46.640 --> 00:14:47.960
two boys from her marriage,
374
00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:50.160
and I have four boys from my past marriage,
375
00:14:50.160 --> 00:14:52.150
and we're a blended modern Brady Bunch.
376
00:14:52.150 --> 00:14:53.820
I was about to say, this is the new Brady Bunch.
377
00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:54.653
This is the new Brady Bunch.
378
00:14:54.653 --> 00:14:55.960
This is a TV show.
Definitely.
379
00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.430
I would definitely watch this.
380
00:14:58.430 --> 00:14:59.840
Now, I mean, that has to be such
381
00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:01.760
an interesting family dynamic
382
00:15:01.760 --> 00:15:05.610
with all of the boys, two matriarchs.
383
00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:08.630
Where's the biggest beef in the house?
384
00:15:08.630 --> 00:15:10.150
I tell you, I will say this,
385
00:15:10.150 --> 00:15:13.150
the one amazing thing is, there's a bunch of amazing things,
386
00:15:13.150 --> 00:15:15.880
but boys love their moms.
387
00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:17.970
No matter what, they just love their moms.
388
00:15:17.970 --> 00:15:19.620
So we get a lot of love from them,
389
00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:22.040
and then we're just super nurturing
390
00:15:22.040 --> 00:15:23.820
and we're just, our goal is to teach
391
00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:28.390
these young men how to be great men out in the world.
392
00:15:28.390 --> 00:15:32.230
So we, obviously, we bring a lot about women's empowerment
393
00:15:32.230 --> 00:15:35.520
into the house, we bring a lot about being respectful,
394
00:15:35.520 --> 00:15:38.470
not only to themselves, but to each other, other people,
395
00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:41.281
so we're always finding teaching moments for the boys
396
00:15:41.281 --> 00:15:43.210
because they're boys and we really wanna make sure
397
00:15:43.210 --> 00:15:44.920
that when we send them out in the world,
398
00:15:44.920 --> 00:15:46.400
they know how to cook, they know how to do their laundry,
399
00:15:46.400 --> 00:15:48.410
they know how to make the bed, all those kinds
400
00:15:48.410 --> 00:15:50.880
of life skills, but especially just
401
00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:53.013
how they conduct themselves in the world.
402
00:15:53.013 --> 00:15:56.630
What's the boys' favorite food for Mom to prepare?
403
00:15:56.630 --> 00:15:59.950
Oh my god, anything, they just eat all the time.
404
00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:02.330
It's like an assembly line in our house.
405
00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:05.140
I mean, a couple of our kids really love to cook,
406
00:16:05.140 --> 00:16:06.450
like they're really in it.
407
00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:08.570
I'll come home from a 16 hour day,
408
00:16:08.570 --> 00:16:09.418
or off a plane,
409
00:16:09.418 --> 00:16:10.320
And they're cooking for you.
410
00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.346
And they're like, we're making homemade pasta tonight.
411
00:16:12.346 --> 00:16:14.990
Like, I've been cooking all damn day
412
00:16:14.990 --> 00:16:16.399
and I gotta come home and cook.
413
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:17.510
I come home and they're just looking at me
414
00:16:17.510 --> 00:16:20.030
with those little eyes like, I wanna make something.
415
00:16:20.030 --> 00:16:23.270
So they're really into it and I think that that makes me
416
00:16:23.270 --> 00:16:25.070
feel so great that they're really into it.
417
00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:27.890
And then the boys are all knowing, we're teaching them
418
00:16:27.890 --> 00:16:29.680
all the time, how to cook something,
419
00:16:29.680 --> 00:16:32.670
how to season something, just to give them those life skills
420
00:16:32.670 --> 00:16:33.690
but it's just fun.
421
00:16:33.690 --> 00:16:35.490
We're a big, loud, eating family
422
00:16:35.490 --> 00:16:38.700
and so we're all around the table, pass this, pass that,
423
00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:40.984
cooking this, cooking that, so it's really cool.
424
00:16:40.984 --> 00:16:44.022
I would love to watch this television show.
425
00:16:44.022 --> 00:16:45.700
Family Food Fight maybe,
Maybe one day.
426
00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:47.580
Maybe one day.
But this is a show in itself
427
00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:49.410
and I wanna dig a little deeper,
428
00:16:49.410 --> 00:16:51.600
play a little game that we do here.
429
00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:53.550
It's called If You Only Knew.
430
00:16:53.550 --> 00:16:55.280
Got it.
Now it's questions,
431
00:16:55.280 --> 00:16:57.620
fill in the blank, take as much time as you want,
432
00:16:57.620 --> 00:17:00.070
you can speed through it or you can elaborate.
433
00:17:00.070 --> 00:17:02.210
All right.
Guilty pleasure?
434
00:17:02.210 --> 00:17:04.140
Coming from the South, a really good banana pudding.
435
00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:05.220
Or key lime pie.
436
00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:07.253
With the wafers?
With the wafers on it
437
00:17:07.253 --> 00:17:10.450
and the key lime pie with that good, tangy-ness in it,
438
00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:11.510
yeah I love that.
439
00:17:11.510 --> 00:17:12.343
That's the South.
440
00:17:12.343 --> 00:17:15.060
A good biscuit, you know, things like that.
441
00:17:15.060 --> 00:17:16.370
I love all that.
442
00:17:16.370 --> 00:17:19.230
There it is, okay, on the other side.
443
00:17:19.230 --> 00:17:21.670
Food you can't stomach?
444
00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:25.234
I'd have to say, growing up in the South, again, chitlins.
445
00:17:25.234 --> 00:17:26.866
You like chitlins?
446
00:17:26.866 --> 00:17:29.170
You know, it's crazy, I haven't had a chitlin
447
00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:30.827
in about, maybe, because I've been trying
448
00:17:30.827 --> 00:17:33.060
to get my health together, probably it's been
449
00:17:33.060 --> 00:17:35.330
almost a decade, but the last time,
450
00:17:35.330 --> 00:17:38.750
my great-grandmother in Kannapolis, North Carolina,
451
00:17:38.750 --> 00:17:41.380
it was Thanksgiving, it was delicious.
452
00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:43.857
It stank (laughing).
It stinks up the whole house
453
00:17:43.857 --> 00:17:45.984
But it still, it's something good about it.
454
00:17:45.984 --> 00:17:48.110
How does she make them, boil them, fry them?
455
00:17:48.110 --> 00:17:50.040
Puts some bleach on them first, to clean them
456
00:17:50.040 --> 00:17:52.076
all the way out, like three days before.
457
00:17:52.076 --> 00:17:54.130
Soak them, yeah, rinse them and soak them three times.
458
00:17:54.130 --> 00:17:56.307
Yeah, 'cause we know what they actually area.
459
00:17:56.307 --> 00:17:59.310
But then, I think, just the way they marinate.
460
00:17:59.310 --> 00:18:01.260
I guess it's all in the seasoning.
461
00:18:01.260 --> 00:18:02.356
It's all in the seasoning, gotta be.
462
00:18:02.356 --> 00:18:04.753
If you can make the intestines taste good,
463
00:18:04.753 --> 00:18:06.051
then you probably got skills.
464
00:18:06.051 --> 00:18:08.170
Yeah, those intestines, if you can make that taste good,
465
00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:09.141
yeah, yeah.
466
00:18:09.141 --> 00:18:11.214
Yeah but it's been over a decade since I've taste
467
00:18:11.214 --> 00:18:12.047
a chitterling.
468
00:18:12.047 --> 00:18:13.191
Well maybe I'll have to taste it
469
00:18:13.191 --> 00:18:14.024
from your great-grandmother,
470
00:18:14.024 --> 00:18:15.900
I might change my mind.
Absolutely.
471
00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:20.250
All right, a food that's getting a lot of buzz right now?
472
00:18:20.250 --> 00:18:22.550
Foods that are getting, I would say,
473
00:18:22.550 --> 00:18:25.080
definitely the plant-based meats.
474
00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:26.690
Veganism is--
Impossible, Beyond?
475
00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:28.310
Impossible, Beyond, all of that.
476
00:18:28.310 --> 00:18:32.150
I think that's really, Mesa Burger at my place,
477
00:18:32.150 --> 00:18:35.330
we have burger joints, we have a great vegan burger
478
00:18:35.330 --> 00:18:36.163
that's a flambe.
479
00:18:36.163 --> 00:18:36.996
I feel a way about it because
480
00:18:36.996 --> 00:18:38.840
I'm into the plant-based thing, but it's like,
481
00:18:38.840 --> 00:18:41.930
I still don't know what it is, exactly,
482
00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:44.447
so it's still a mystery-meat to me.
483
00:18:44.447 --> 00:18:45.357
Sometimes it is.
484
00:18:45.357 --> 00:18:48.380
And it's fascinating that it looks, cooks, tastes,
485
00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:50.870
just like meat, so I'm a little freaked out by it.
486
00:18:50.870 --> 00:18:51.830
Some people get scared by it.
487
00:18:51.830 --> 00:18:53.550
Some of the vegans that come in are like,
488
00:18:53.550 --> 00:18:54.383
are you sure?
489
00:18:54.383 --> 00:18:56.500
I had somebody the other day, in our burger place,
490
00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:58.968
say, are you sure that's plant-based?
491
00:18:58.968 --> 00:19:01.580
And I said, I promise it is, but it looks like a burger.
492
00:19:01.580 --> 00:19:03.260
Every time, I'm always thinking like,
493
00:19:03.260 --> 00:19:04.980
they done switched it on me this time.
494
00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:07.310
All right, a food most people don't like,
495
00:19:07.310 --> 00:19:09.203
but should give another try.
496
00:19:10.110 --> 00:19:12.150
I'd have to say, just 'cause I know my wife
497
00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:13.940
and she loves a lot of foods,
498
00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:15.720
but I know that oysters.
499
00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:17.960
We were just having oysters in Vancouver the other day
500
00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.310
and I was, the tiny ones, small ones are the best.
501
00:19:21.310 --> 00:19:23.240
Exactly, can't be big.
502
00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.410
They're the buttery, little sweet ones,
503
00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:28.040
they can't be big, and so, oysters, I have to say,
504
00:19:28.040 --> 00:19:29.530
I gave her one and tried it.
505
00:19:29.530 --> 00:19:31.610
She actually started really liking it.
506
00:19:31.610 --> 00:19:32.990
But she's tried them many times
507
00:19:32.990 --> 00:19:34.110
and she can't seem to get there.
508
00:19:34.110 --> 00:19:37.020
But I think oysters, brussel sprouts, things like that.
509
00:19:37.020 --> 00:19:38.730
You fry the oysters from the South,
510
00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:39.610
you can really.
511
00:19:39.610 --> 00:19:42.250
Oh fry them, you can pop those like,
512
00:19:42.250 --> 00:19:43.402
those are like potato chips.
513
00:19:43.402 --> 00:19:46.500
Absolutely, most over-rated dish?
514
00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:48.970
I'd have to say, over-rated, I would say wagyu beef.
515
00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:50.785
I think that's become--
516
00:19:50.785 --> 00:19:52.321
I don't even know that is, wagyu?
517
00:19:52.321 --> 00:19:54.690
Wagyu, it's like a coby beef, it's like a special beef.
518
00:19:54.690 --> 00:19:57.260
It's really buttery and this and that,
519
00:19:57.260 --> 00:19:58.880
but I think sometimes it's a little over-rated.
520
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.390
I think just a good prime angus steak on the grill.
521
00:20:03.390 --> 00:20:05.070
See, exactly.
You like that?
522
00:20:05.070 --> 00:20:06.030
Taking it there.
523
00:20:06.030 --> 00:20:08.554
First thing we'll cook. There you go, we're making steak.
524
00:20:08.554 --> 00:20:10.537
'Cause I'm pretty nice on the grill.
525
00:20:10.537 --> 00:20:12.810
Oh okay.
The grill outside,
526
00:20:12.810 --> 00:20:16.450
I can handle that, I'm mixing the sauces and everything.
527
00:20:16.450 --> 00:20:18.010
It's just when I get in the kitchen,
528
00:20:18.010 --> 00:20:20.240
Then it becomes a little more like scary.
529
00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.246
But that's good.
530
00:20:21.246 --> 00:20:23.060
And that's 'cause I don't pay attention to detail.
531
00:20:23.060 --> 00:20:24.440
I think that's what my issues is.
532
00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:25.920
But you'd be a great chef, that way.
533
00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:27.910
Not paying attention to detail, but if you don't
534
00:20:27.910 --> 00:20:30.410
worry too much about, baking is a science.
535
00:20:30.410 --> 00:20:32.929
Cooking is like just from your, whatever,
536
00:20:32.929 --> 00:20:35.100
it's just like that, like a painting.
537
00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:36.300
Like an abstract painting.
538
00:20:36.300 --> 00:20:38.370
Now, I'm gonna take that approach.
539
00:20:38.370 --> 00:20:39.860
Now, what's your favorite kind of food?
540
00:20:39.860 --> 00:20:41.280
Italian, Indian?
541
00:20:41.280 --> 00:20:43.070
I'd have to say, growing up in a Greek house,
542
00:20:43.070 --> 00:20:45.100
Mediterranean across the board, just 'cause I've cooked
543
00:20:45.100 --> 00:20:46.090
so much of it.
544
00:20:46.090 --> 00:20:47.790
I can cook many different cuisines,
545
00:20:47.790 --> 00:20:49.646
but that's kind of the sun-foods,
546
00:20:49.646 --> 00:20:52.400
you know you have the Rivieras, you have Italy,
547
00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:56.080
Greece, Spain, Morocco, all those places
548
00:20:56.080 --> 00:20:58.430
are just so beautiful, so I think cooking
549
00:20:58.430 --> 00:21:00.540
along those lines are always.
550
00:21:00.540 --> 00:21:02.480
Israel, we're going to Israel in a couple days,
551
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.070
so that kinds of, all those sun-foods
552
00:21:05.070 --> 00:21:06.570
are really beautiful to me, yeah.
553
00:21:06.570 --> 00:21:07.760
Okay, all right, I love that.
554
00:21:07.760 --> 00:21:09.480
I love that, that's yacht food to me.
555
00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:11.230
Yacht food, (laughing) that's a good way to put it.
556
00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:12.767
Yachty food.
557
00:21:12.767 --> 00:21:14.231
That's gonna be in the Mediterranean,
558
00:21:14.231 --> 00:21:15.793
they bring the vegetables, I'm all about it.
559
00:21:15.793 --> 00:21:18.120
That's it, maybe that's why I like it, too.
560
00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:20.013
Secret talent?
561
00:21:20.850 --> 00:21:23.970
I'd have to say, secret talent, I can fix anything.
562
00:21:23.970 --> 00:21:26.040
I can fix anything, almost anything.
563
00:21:26.040 --> 00:21:28.150
And if I don't have--
You're Mom.
564
00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.310
Exactly, I can fix things around the house.
565
00:21:30.310 --> 00:21:33.610
I can fix, I mean I just MacGuyver'd my wife's flip-flop
566
00:21:33.610 --> 00:21:35.946
when we're going through customs the other day, it broke
567
00:21:35.946 --> 00:21:38.930
and I'm MacGuyver'ing it, got it through customs.
568
00:21:38.930 --> 00:21:41.120
But I love that challenge of fixing anything,
569
00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:42.620
around the house, things like that,
570
00:21:42.620 --> 00:21:43.453
so I'm pretty handy.
571
00:21:43.453 --> 00:21:45.540
Okay, all right, now something that you wish
572
00:21:45.540 --> 00:21:46.490
you were better at?
573
00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:49.330
I'd have to say,
574
00:21:49.330 --> 00:21:52.040
I wish I was better at painting
575
00:21:52.040 --> 00:21:53.810
because it's something, it's a love of mine
576
00:21:53.810 --> 00:21:54.706
and I'm learning.
577
00:21:54.706 --> 00:21:56.140
That's subjective.
I'm learning.
578
00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:59.120
Like, who's to say Picasso was amazing,
579
00:21:59.120 --> 00:22:00.060
or better than--
580
00:22:00.060 --> 00:22:02.070
I'm learning how to mix my paints,
581
00:22:02.070 --> 00:22:02.903
put it that way.
582
00:22:02.903 --> 00:22:04.320
If you need a skin color.
583
00:22:04.320 --> 00:22:06.430
I was doing a beautiful skin color like yours,
584
00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:08.950
I'd learn how to mix that, skin color like mine,
585
00:22:08.950 --> 00:22:10.591
so things like that that I'm learning.
586
00:22:10.591 --> 00:22:11.543
So you're trying to master it?
587
00:22:11.543 --> 00:22:12.588
They're like recipes.
Right.
588
00:22:12.588 --> 00:22:14.240
They're like recipes, so that's part,
589
00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.350
and then you just go.
590
00:22:15.350 --> 00:22:18.170
Cat will answer your social media questions
591
00:22:18.170 --> 00:22:20.270
in our final segment, that's where the pressure is.
592
00:22:20.270 --> 00:22:21.960
That's the pressure.
593
00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.560
Her new show, Family Food Fight,
594
00:22:23.560 --> 00:22:25.940
is currently airing Thursdays on ABC.
595
00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:26.940
We'll be right back.
596
00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.303
(upbeat music)
597
00:22:30.303 --> 00:22:32.830
Welcome back to Larry King Now.
598
00:22:32.830 --> 00:22:34.260
Obviously, I'm not Larry King,
599
00:22:34.260 --> 00:22:35.843
I could never be Larry King.
600
00:22:35.843 --> 00:22:39.580 line:15%
I'm Nick Cannon filling in for Larry today.
601
00:22:39.580 --> 00:22:42.550 line:15%
My guest is the amazing chef Cat Cora.
602
00:22:42.550 --> 00:22:43.477 line:15%
We've been having fun.
603
00:22:43.477 --> 00:22:44.652 line:15%
We've been having so much fun.
604
00:22:44.652 --> 00:22:46.817 line:15%
I'm learning about you, you're learning about me.
605
00:22:46.817 --> 00:22:48.230
I know, we're like friends now.
606
00:22:48.230 --> 00:22:49.120
Yeah, we are.
607
00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:51.970
I'm so fascinated by your family dynamic,
608
00:22:51.970 --> 00:22:53.780
so fascinated by your story, just being
609
00:22:53.780 --> 00:22:55.510
such a strong woman.
Oh thank you.
610
00:22:55.510 --> 00:22:57.350
Even with, the Iron Chef, we didn't get
611
00:22:57.350 --> 00:23:00.330
to dig too deep, but I mean, to be the first woman
612
00:23:00.330 --> 00:23:04.230
to ever win, how did that process go,
613
00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:07.830
and then to hold that title has to be,
614
00:23:07.830 --> 00:23:08.860
blaze the trail.
615
00:23:08.860 --> 00:23:10.880
Well Iron Chef was on for a long time
616
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.270
and I was the first female Iron Chef,
617
00:23:13.270 --> 00:23:15.550
so I was with my colleagues,
618
00:23:15.550 --> 00:23:16.540
who were all Iron Chefs,
619
00:23:16.540 --> 00:23:18.220
and we would have people challenge us.
620
00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:20.160
They'd come from anywhere in the world
621
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.510
and challenge us and, hey I wanna take on Cat Cora.
622
00:23:23.510 --> 00:23:26.040
I wanna take on Bobby Flay, or I wanna take on, you know,
623
00:23:26.040 --> 00:23:30.020
and so we filmed that for, god, 12 seasons.
624
00:23:30.020 --> 00:23:31.670
And it's still kind of playing,
625
00:23:31.670 --> 00:23:33.620
but it's a lot of, it was amazing.
626
00:23:33.620 --> 00:23:36.630
It was really great to be a role model to a lot of people
627
00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:38.290
out there, and it was also great
628
00:23:38.290 --> 00:23:39.410
to be the first at something.
629
00:23:39.410 --> 00:23:40.810
I always loved being the first at something.
630
00:23:40.810 --> 00:23:43.523
Yeah, right, you can't beat that.
631
00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:46.640
So that was good, and it was just amazing
632
00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:47.880
to really get in there and cook
633
00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:50.680
with a lot of colleagues and to really
634
00:23:51.560 --> 00:23:53.240
stretch my imagination.
635
00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.320
I learned so much just doing that show,
636
00:23:55.320 --> 00:23:57.320
'cause I studied so many different cuisines.
637
00:23:57.320 --> 00:23:59.680
'Cause every time I came to the kitchen stadium
638
00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.480
to battle somebody, I wanted to bring something different,
639
00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:04.930
unique, and crazy, and molecular, and this, and that.
640
00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:07.550
So it was really, it was very, very cool.
641
00:24:07.550 --> 00:24:08.994
That's awesome, well congratulations
642
00:24:08.994 --> 00:24:11.550
on being the first, and inspiring so many
643
00:24:11.550 --> 00:24:14.820
and so many online, and they have questions for you.
644
00:24:14.820 --> 00:24:16.542
Okay, good, let's go, I'm ready.
645
00:24:16.542 --> 00:24:17.660 line:15%
All right, we gonna jump in.
646
00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:21.270 line:15%
Jennifer Miller on the Larry King Now Blog,
647
00:24:21.270 --> 00:24:24.470 line:15%
how often do you cook, these days?
648
00:24:24.470 --> 00:24:27.100 line:15%
I cook every time I'm not traveling and I'm home,
649
00:24:27.100 --> 00:24:30.644
I cook, so I'm cooking 'cause we have our boys.
650
00:24:30.644 --> 00:24:32.810
I actually love to get in the kitchen and cook.
651
00:24:32.810 --> 00:24:35.740
I'm cooking when I go to my restaurants.
652
00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:38.140
I'm cooking with my chefs, working on menus,
653
00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:39.520
working on changing them, seasonally,
654
00:24:39.520 --> 00:24:41.520
so I do a lot of cooking professionally,
655
00:24:41.520 --> 00:24:42.663
but I really do a lot of cooking at home
656
00:24:42.663 --> 00:24:44.510
because I just love to cook.
657
00:24:44.510 --> 00:24:46.120
And you got hungry boys.
658
00:24:46.120 --> 00:24:49.070
Yeah, hungry boys, and I have my wife I love to cook for
659
00:24:49.070 --> 00:24:50.470
so I just enjoy it.
660
00:24:50.470 --> 00:24:52.110
It's easy for me to go in there
661
00:24:52.110 --> 00:24:54.660
and really, and it's cathartic.
662
00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:58.760
So I come off a long day of a lot of challenges.
663
00:24:58.760 --> 00:25:01.580
I come in the kitchen and that's my happy place.
664
00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:03.773
That's my zone, I get in that zen place.
665
00:25:03.773 --> 00:25:06.400
See, that's amazing, 'cause I'd lose it.
666
00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.800
The pressure would be crazy.
667
00:25:08.800 --> 00:25:11.570 line:15%
Tom on the Larry King Now Blog asks,
668
00:25:11.570 --> 00:25:12.970 line:15%
what is your stance on GMOs?
669
00:25:14.370 --> 00:25:16.950 line:15%
You know, I do believe in labeling.
670
00:25:16.950 --> 00:25:18.980 line:15%
I do believe we need to know, and actually,
671
00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:21.500
the last time I was in this studio with Larry King,
672
00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:23.810
we talked about GMOs, that was while I was here.
673
00:25:23.810 --> 00:25:26.560
And so, my stance is that I believe
674
00:25:26.560 --> 00:25:28.870
that everybody should know what's going on in their food,
675
00:25:28.870 --> 00:25:30.959
what you're taking into your body, and I just believe in it.
676
00:25:30.959 --> 00:25:33.010
I'm always so confused 'cause I feel like GMOs,
677
00:25:33.010 --> 00:25:36.371
they categorize, like what is a GMO,
678
00:25:36.371 --> 00:25:40.185
even going back to those Impossible, Beyond meat,
679
00:25:40.185 --> 00:25:43.500
aren't those kind of GMO?
680
00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:45.900
Sometimes, and I think there's a lot of
681
00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:48.990
confusion on what's a GMO and what's not a GMO,
682
00:25:48.990 --> 00:25:51.820
and I think, really,
683
00:25:51.820 --> 00:25:54.120
my stance is that I think that we really have
684
00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:56.140
to get to a place where, A, we know
685
00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:58.540
what's going into our food, we know how
686
00:25:58.540 --> 00:26:00.240
it's being processed, how it's being made,
687
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:02.740
and I think it's our responsibility, as well,
688
00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:03.573
to dig into that.
689
00:26:03.573 --> 00:26:06.867
There's so much research online now about GMOs
690
00:26:06.867 --> 00:26:10.950
and what foods, and I think it's the consumer
691
00:26:10.950 --> 00:26:14.210
and it's the responsibility of the manufacturer.
692
00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:17.250
So I think supporting our farmers, to me,
693
00:26:17.250 --> 00:26:18.280
is the most important thing.
694
00:26:18.280 --> 00:26:21.740 line:15%
Yes, now Julia Williams on the Larry King Now Blog asks,
695
00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:24.430 line:15%
what is Aeysha Curry like to work with
696
00:26:24.430 --> 00:26:26.536 line:15%
and is she a good cook?
697
00:26:26.536 --> 00:26:27.550 line:15%
Aeysha's a great cook.
698
00:26:27.550 --> 00:26:29.870 line:15%
I mean she came from a cooking family.
699
00:26:29.870 --> 00:26:32.050
Her family is amazing.
700
00:26:32.050 --> 00:26:34.220
I met her mother and some of her family
701
00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:36.470
and they're all big cooks.
702
00:26:36.470 --> 00:26:38.200
Her restaurants, International Smoke,
703
00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:39.420
are amazing, I've been to them.
704
00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:42.730
They are so good and delicious, so yeah,
705
00:26:42.730 --> 00:26:43.980
I have a lot of respect for her
706
00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:45.393
as an amazing home cook.
707
00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:48.240
That's how she classifies herself
708
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.250
and I think it's amazing that she takes that on
709
00:26:50.250 --> 00:26:54.330
and she cooks for her family and she cooks for America
710
00:26:54.330 --> 00:26:55.900
in her restaurants and I think it's amazing.
711
00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:57.140
I think what she's doing is great
712
00:26:57.140 --> 00:26:59.300
and she is a great cook and she's also
713
00:26:59.300 --> 00:27:01.440
a great friend and a good person.
714
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:03.950
I can not wait to see this show.
715
00:27:03.950 --> 00:27:05.370
It sounds like it's gonna be a lot of fun.
716
00:27:05.370 --> 00:27:06.810
I can't wait to, hopefully, in the future,
717
00:27:06.810 --> 00:27:09.660
see the show of your dynamic family, too,
718
00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.145
'cause you sound like you guys have
719
00:27:11.145 --> 00:27:15.650
an amazing time and it has been a divine pleasure
720
00:27:15.650 --> 00:27:16.785
to sit and talk.
721
00:27:16.785 --> 00:27:18.310
Thank you so much, it's been so great
722
00:27:18.310 --> 00:27:19.270
to get to know you.
723
00:27:19.270 --> 00:27:20.750
Likewise, thank you so much.
724
00:27:20.750 --> 00:27:22.260
Now we're friends, I'll come over
725
00:27:22.260 --> 00:27:23.360
and teach you how to cook.
726
00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:24.520
Please.
You're gonna grill
727
00:27:24.520 --> 00:27:25.996
a little bit for me.
I'll grill.
728
00:27:25.996 --> 00:27:27.070
See what skills you have.
I won't burn
729
00:27:27.070 --> 00:27:30.010
the peanut butter, I won't set the microwave on fire.
730
00:27:30.010 --> 00:27:30.920
We're gonna make it happen.
731
00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:31.947
Thank you so much.
732
00:27:31.947 --> 00:27:32.780
Thanks Nick.
733
00:27:32.780 --> 00:27:34.070
Thanks to our guest, Cat Cora.
734
00:27:34.070 --> 00:27:36.950
You can currently see her on Family Food Fight
735
00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:38.420
Thursdays on ABC.
736
00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:41.190
Thanks to Larry for letting me keep his seat warm
737
00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:42.590
and we'll see you next time.
738
00:27:43.505 --> 00:27:46.088
(upbeat music)