Writer Kathy Hunt a/k/a Kitchen Kat

I count myself among the fortunate to be able to work at what I love — writing, cooking, traveling and taking photographs. As a syndicated food writer, my articles have appeared in such newspapers as The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun. I’ve covered food and travel for such print magazines as VegNews, BackHome and Town and Country Living and online at Zester Daily, Yahoo, MSN and Reuters. My work also appears in the culinary encyclopedia Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Superbowl (Greenwood, 2008) and Start Your Own Microbrewery, Distillery, or Cidery (Entrepreneur Media, 2015). I am the author of the technique cookbook Luscious, Tender, Juicy (Countryman Press, 2021), which is an Amazon’s Editors’ Pick for Food and Wine books. I also wrote the non-fiction food history Herring: A Global History for Reaktion Books and the seafood cookbook Fish Market (Running Press, 2013). Weight Watchers named Fish Market one of the top ten books to give and receive in 2013 while NPR shortlisted it as “Best Gift for the Beach Cottage.”

Throughout my food writing career I’ve worked as a recipe tester, trying out and tweaking the culinary creations of noted authors and my own recipes. I also teach cooking classes and lecture on sustainable seafood, cooking and writing.

Talking about seafood on FOX Baltimore’s Morning News

Growing up in an ethnically diverse, former steel town north of Pittsburgh, I learned early on about exciting and influential world cuisines. Pasta fagioli, pita and pierogies all shaped my palate. They also spurred my desire to travel the globe, sampling them and other childhood favorites on their native soils. Thanks to a major case of wanderlust, I’ve journeyed to six continents and 51 countries (and counting). I’ve had the pleasure of cooking in Paris, Prague, Barcelona, Chiang Mai and Siem Reap, Cambodia and of collecting recipes and stories wherever I’ve roamed.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism brought me to New York City in 2000 and awarded me a Master of Science in Journalism in 2001. I also hold a Master of Science from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Grove City College.

Educational aspirations may have lured me to New York but rich culture, disparate cuisines and the overall hustle and bustle of urban life kept me there. Today I live a somewhat “Green Acres” existence, dividing my time between Manhattan’s Upper West Side and an 1801 farmhouse on the outskirts of Philadelphia. When I’m not traveling, cooking or writing about food, I love to take photos, hike, read and hang out with my family, friends and trio of rescued, stray, cats, Scooty, Sunny and Dougal, the undisputed kitchen cat.

My culinary adventures and influences come together at Kitchen Kat. Here I share recipes, food histories, tips, photos, favorite cookbooks and cooking and travel tales. Like what you read? You can also follow me and my culinary stories by becoming a fan of Kitchen Kat on Facebook and by following me on Twitter @Kitchenkat. Further adventures and photos can be found by following Kathy Hunt on flickr and Instagram. Yearning to read more by me? Some of my published food as well as STEM articles are available at Clippings.Me. Want to get in touch? E-mail me at kathy_hunt@yahoo.com.