Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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author
Cathy A. Lewis
Cathy is a classically trained Chef and graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, and culinary entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in her industry. A...view moreCathy is a classically trained Chef and graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York, and culinary entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in her industry. A pioneer in her field, in 1984 she took the position of the first female Executive Chef for the Servico Corporation, a hotel company with 52 properties. Located near Veterans Stadium and The Spectrum, Cathy's property served The Philadelphia Eagles, The Philadelphia Flyers and The Philadelphia 76'ers, along with visiting musical groups that played at The Spectrum. Over the course of her career, Cathy capitalized her creative talents as a restaurant owner and partner, conceptualizing and creating brands for three successful startup businesses, Food Works, in Pittsford, New York, The Bagel Bin in Penfield, New York, and The Nick of Thyme in Brentwood, Tennessee. It was at the Nick of Thyme that Cathy developed long standing relationships within the music industry. Her clients included Donna Summer Sudano, Naomi Judd, Wynonna Judd, numerous Christian and country music artists, record labels EMICMC, Curb Records, ASCAP, along with world-renowned wine collectors Billy Ray Hearn and Tom Black. After the sale of her business, Cathy cooked for Wynonna Judd and her family, and traveled extensively to movie locations with actress and activist Ashley Judd and her husband, three-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti. Cathy continues to cook privately for exclusive clients and friends. The Start of a New Career After Cathy's father passed away in 1995, she found a small, tattered suitcase belonging to her deceased father. Inside the case she discovered a treasure of historical content, artifacts, her father's daily journal, and mementos from his six-week trek in 1933 through Europe with his Boy Scout Troop on their way to the 4th World Scout Jamboree held in Godollo, Hungary. Her father documented in his journal that while on the way to the Jamboree, in Vienna he met a 16-year-old German Hitler Youth, a former Boy Scout. After conversing with the young man her father wrote, "I found him to be a fine fellow." Cathy wondered, did this young man turn out to be one of Hitler's Wehrmacht, responsible for the death of millions, including her own relatives? Her father's off-the-cuff comment ignited Cathy's research into the pre-Holocaust Hitler era and her lifelong desire to become an author. The Road We Took is Cathy's first novel and partially conceived from her father's journal of daily writings and documentations along with the narratives and tales he told Cathy as a young girl. This historical fiction novel takes place in 1933 over four days in Germany during a time when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party had already begun their murderous plans for European Jews, political adversaries, and anyone that did not fit the Aryan "ideals." Cathy donates her resources to charities: Nashville Wine Auction, The New Beginnings Center, MAPP, Homes for Our Troops, Nashville Animal Rescue, and Save Them All Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Unicef/Congo supporting the humanitarian work of her friend, Activist and Actress Ashley Judd.. When she is not working as a professional chef, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking for her family and special friends, taking photos of nature and food, gardening, watching open wheel racing, watching movie classics from the golden age of cinema on TCM, and chasing her two cats, Princess Poopie Peanut Head, and Tout Suite.view less