A short bio...

I am a writer, author, private chef, cooking and writing teacher who splits her time between Seattle and Anna Maria Island, Florida.

I began my writing career after throwing a dart at a map when I was 17. It landed at Gary, Indiana. I drove north to Chicago where I started my writing career as a regular freelancer for the Chicago Sun-Times and interning at Playboy magazine. Following a couple of newspaper jobs, including one as a reporter for the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, I went on to edit Internet Underground, a national print magazine that was highly acclaimed for its originality and design; the L.A. Times referred to it as "Spy meets Wired."

In the mid-90s, I joined Microsoft as the founding restaurant producer for Sidewalk.com, the company's nationwide series of online city guides. When they were sold to Citysearch, I went to work for MSN in London, eventually heading up editorial for MSN.co.uk. The highlight of my career with the company was helping to produce the webcast of an invitation-only concert featuring Madonna that still reigns as the largest webcast event ever according to the Guinness World Book of Records.

As I progressed up the corporate ladder, I spent less time writing, creating and producing. Instead, I spent more time working on budgets, managing stuff and doing reports. Urged on by my then boyfriend, Mike, I left Microsoft in December 2003 to pursue a lifelong dream of studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I earned a diplome de cuisine from the school in 2005. You can read all about this in my memoir "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry." I'm at work on a second book now.

Over the years, in addition to being a journalist and corporate type, I have also held a number of odd jobs. At various times in my career, I have been employed as a magician's assistant, professional Tarot card reader, singing telegram messenger and stand-up comedian.

In 2004, I married Mike, a Renaissance type of guy who invents, designs and provides technical consulting in addition to flying small planes, driving fast motorcycles and jumping off mountains with a paragliding wing.

I presently serve as the chair of the Food Writers, Editors & Publishers section of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. I'm also a member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors, Society of Professional Journalists and the Author's Guild.

You can reach me by email via  kat @ kathleenflinn.com