The Blog

Kitty Morse – Award Winning Author and Chef

Jul 24, 2018 | Featured Author

Debbie Harpham

ABOUT KITTY MORSE 

Award-winning author Kitty Morse was born in Casablanca, Morocco, of a French mother and British father. She emigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen. While studying for her Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Kitty catered Moroccan diffas, or banquets, and went on to teach the intricacies of Moroccan cuisine in cooking schools and department stores nationwide. In June 2002, she conducted a Culinary Concert on Moroccan culture and cuisine hosted by Julia Child, as a benefit for the Harry Bell Foundation of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. From 1983 to 2007, Kitty organized an annual tour to Morocco that included culinary demonstrations in her family home, a Moorish riad south of Casablanca. She is the author of a memoir and nine cookbooks, including Mint Tea and MinaretsWinner: Best Book/Arab Cuisine/USA 2013, and Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.  PUBLIC SPEAKER: Kitty has been a guest on public radio, and has been interviewed twice on the BBC’s The World. In 2003, she participated in The Book and the Cook event in Philadelphia (PA). She has been a featured presenter for the Chicago Culinarians, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the City of Chicago, the California Farm Conference, the convention of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Kraft Foods USA, the famed Golden Door Spa (Escondido, CA), and, on three occasions at the Ahwahnee Hotel’s annual Chef’s Holiday in Yosemite National Park, as well as many other venues. In 1992 and 1999, she gave seminars on North African cuisine and culture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. TELEVISION: Kitty has appeared on Sarah’s Secrets, hosted by Sarah Moulton of the Food TV channel, all national affiliates in San Diego (CA), as well as Morocco’s national television and Baja California’s (Mexico) Canal Azteca. She presented her book, A Biblical Feast, on the QVC shopping channel. Her two part series, Fresh from the Farm, which she produced and hosted in 1994, still airs on cable channels in San Diego County. For over a year, she held a regular spot on California Heartland, a weekly, statewide series focusing on California’s agriculture. PRINT MEDIA: One of Kitty’s menus was featured in the January 2002 issue of Bon Appetit magazine, under the heading, Moroccan Cuisine: Cuisine of the Year. Once a weekly contributor to the Los Angeles Times, Kitty still writes regularly for a number of national publications. Her recipes have been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Diego Union Tribune, Sunset (as one of The Best Chefs of the West), Fine Cooking, Cooking Pleasures, Pillsbury’s Fast and Healthy, Aramco World, Gastronomica, Eating Well, and Cooking Light magazines. Kitty belongs to the Independent Booksellers Association (IBPA.)

AUTHOR VISITS

Author visits with Kitty are available to bookclubs via Novel Network.   

MORE

To learn more about Kitty and what she’s cooking,  visit her website.