Celebrity Chef to Freshen Look of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Ads.

JACKSON, Miss. -- U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish will have a much prettier face in 2007, thanks to a new advertising partnership sponsored by The Catfish Institute (TCI). With agreements finalized in late 2006, Food Network Chef Cat Cora has become the industry's latest celebrity spokesperson.

A native Mississippian, Cat will be featured alongside some of her favorite catfish recipes in a national print advertising campaign that will begin in March 2007. The year-long campaign will be featured in magazines such as Gourmet, Fine Cooking, Cooking with Paula Deen, Flavor and the Menu, Food Arts, and Chef.

"The Catfish Institute is proud to welcome Cat Cora, a delightful and influential culinary celebrity, into the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish family," said TCI President Roger Barlow. "We are confident that her presence in our print and online advertisements will help take our product to a new level nationally."

In 2005, Cat Cora made television history on Food Network's Iron Chef America as the first and only female Iron Chef. In November 2006, Bon Appetit Magazine bestowed her with their Teacher of the Year Award, which she calls "the greatest recognition she could achieve as a chef." That same month, she was also honored with another great culinary distinction when she was named Bon Appetit's Executive Chef.

Cat's upbringing, no doubt, had an influence on her career. She was raised in a small Greek community in Jackson, Miss., by a family for whom cooking and eating were the center of life.

With advice from of her famous mentor Julia Child, Cat left Mississippi for New York, where she received her education at The Culinary Institute of America. While in New York, she apprenticed with and then worked for Chef Anne Rozenweig at Arcadia and worked at the Beekman Tavern under Chef Larry Forgione of An American Place.

Cat's culinary education continued in Europe with apprenticeships with two of France's three-star Michelin chefs. After returning to New York, Cat honed her skills as a Sous Chef at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company under Chef Melissa Kelly. She soon headed West to plant her roots in Northern California, where she served as Chef de Cuisine at Napa Valley's Bistro Don Giovanni.

Cat made her TV debut in 1999, as co-host of Food Network's, Melting Pot with Rocco Di Spirito. She went on to host My Country My Kitchen: Greece, Date Plate, and was one of the featured hosts on Fine Living's Simplify Your Life. A documentary, Cat's In The Kitchen was also made about her first James Beard dinner in April, 2002.

The Catfish Institute, or TCI, was formed in 1986 by a group of catfish farmers and feed manufacturers to raise consumer awareness of the positive qualities of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. Since its formation, U.S. per capita consumption has more than doubled. TCI aggressively promotes the many benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to the consuming public.