Kaija Knorr is a private chef whose cooking lifestyle is informed by her design sensibility and vibrant coastal living, with loads of travel along the way. She grew up catching Blue Crabs during summers in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; picking Fall apples in Virginia and exploring farm stands from Amagansett, New York to Kauai, Hawaii.
She has eaten a Rocky Mountain Oyster in North Dakota; Injera & Tej in Manhattan; Reindeer Tacos in Norway; Chapati straight from the tandoori in Delhi; unctuous Zürcher Geschnetzeltes in Geneva; towers of Blue Langoustine in Porto; had Champagne & Cigarettes at breakfast in Frankfurt; Jellyfish & Chicken Claw Dim Sum in Kowloon and a 1000-Year-Old Egg in Shanghai, after buying doppelgänger Mont Blancs in the Night Market.
She has a creative background, with a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Columbia University. She spent her professional youth in fashion, leading teams designing Home Collections for Ralph Lauren and Pottery Barn.
Kaija loves to teach and has held workshops at The Nantucket Culinary Center and for groups of varying skill levels, from the curious beginner to the enthusiastic gourmet. She makes paintings and writes essays and poetry and recipes. If you find yourself stuck in the process of making a new (or, old) dish, give her a shout (although the answer may well be in Julie Eisenhower’s Cookbook for Children).
Kaija is currently serving Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard.
When not in the kitchen, she’s happiest by the water, on the water or in the water.
And, she still loves climbing up stark white, endlessly tall lifeguard chairs to perch in the middle of the night, on watch with the moon over ruffled black water.
Kaija is originally from McLean, Virginia.
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