Cathy Whims

Cathy Whims is the chef and owner of Nostrana, the Portland restaurant she opened in 2005. A six time James Beard Award finalist and one of Portland’s most influential Italian chefs, Whims has spent her career championing the depth and diversity of Italian cuisine. She is the author of The Italian Summer Kitchen: Recipes for La Dolce Vita, her first cookbook, which celebrates the simple, seasonal cooking, long lunches, and convivial spirit of an Italian summer.