Chef Katie Cook

Despite the inference of her surname, Katie wasn’t always on the path of being a chef. But eventually found her way to her true calling after trading the servers’ apron and order pad she wore in her teens and college, to move to the “back of the house,” and she never looked back. It was only a few years later that she graduated from the Oregon Culinary Institute and accepted her first Executive Chef job.

Chef Cook has been preparing culinary fare professionally for over  fifteen years, and has been in the foodservice and hospitality industry for almost 25. She has worked in well-known restaurants of the PDX area such as Ciao Vito, Veritable Quandary, and Castagna. Additionally, Katie was a chef for three years at the luxury destination fishing resort Steamboat Bay Fishing Club in Alaska, where she received glowing reviews in Forbes Magazine.

She discovered her passion for teaching with Portland’s Culinary Workshop, working with adults and children alike for more than seven years. After its closure as a result of the pandemic, Katie was at a crossroads. To go back into kitchens and work on a line? She expanded her own private chef business, working closely with regular families, but missed teaching her craft, and eventually became a licensed ServSafe Instructor and Proctor for the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association in her spare time. She eventually became the Assistant Director for Little Kitchen Academy, teaching cooking to children exclusively, using the montessori method. This methodology only enhances her ability to communicate with her adult students as well.

Katie’s passion for her position at the farm is evident to all who meet and work with her, as she’s finally found a path here. The farm to table ingredients, getting to teach adults and children how to cook seasonally, and being able to prepare beautifully plated gourmet food for the various events hosted by the Kitchen; for her it’s the perfect balance of all the things she has loved about the adventure that has been her career.

While her degree is in Baking and Pastry, Katie is inspired by classic culinary traditions and techniques meeting modern flavor profiles, in both the sweet and savory realms! Feeling just as at home serving collard greens and cornbread, as she is serving four star chef’s tasting menus. Originally from Virginia, Katie is proud to have called Oregon her home for more than two decades, and some of the primary reasons are the produce. And ultimately the food.

When Katie isn’t at Middleground Farms, she is teaching classes in her own neighborhood at Kitchen Culture, substitute teaching as an adjunct Professor of Cuisine at Clark Community College’s McClaskey Culinary Institute, and doing the occasional cooking demonstration on KATU (a fun coincidence she and Jessica share!) She also loves rollerskating with Secret Roller Disco as well as Portland Roller Hockey, hiking in the PNW wilderness, training for and completing races such as Spartan Race and Hood to Coast, and snuggling with her two kitties: Maeve and Titus.

It’s not just about the food for her, though that is very important! It’s about the experience she provides, and the wonderful team she has the pleasure of working with to make that happen.