Life & Work with Katie Mosher of Athens Area (SE Ohio)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Mosher.

Hi Katie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started cooking with my mom and gran from a young age, but didn’t find my place cooking professionally until my late twenties. Throughout middle and high school I thought of cooking more as a hobby, and focused on other talents, participating in choir and drama club. We did not have a culinary program at my high school when I attended, and the trades were not promoted at that time, so off to college at Bowling Green State University I went to pursue a degree in vocal performance, though I later switched to interior design. From BG, I moved to Savannah, GA to attend SCAD for a masters in Historic Preservation. While I found the material interesting, I found myself employed in the hospitality industry, where I thrived. I worked front desk at The Marshall House hotel and the Mansion on Forsyth park. It was at the mansion where I met a friend and mentor, Chef Darin Sehnert. Chef Darin had come from a career at Disney to run the recreational cooking classes at The Mansion. I would help him mise en place and occasionally participate with his classes and I was hooked. He told me once-you know you’re really good at this. It’s a small statement that lingered in the back of my mind as I attempted to pursue a career within my degree field. When I moved home to Ohio in 2008, I new I needed to pursue my passion. I visited Hocking College and was hooked. While there, my skills and passion ignited. After graduation, I worked around the area, before being invited back to Hocking to teach a few adjunct classes. This blossomed into more and more classes, and I started teaching full time in 2011. While teaching at Hocking, I developed the Epicurean Club for students, providing opportunities for travel to Chicago for the NRA Food Show and New York for numerous culinary exposure experiences. I also coached the school’s Knowledge bowl team, claiming multiple gold medals with the various teams over the years. In 2015 I took on the office of Department Chair, and worked with the amazing faculty to recertify our ACF accreditation before leaving the institution to try something new. In 2017 I started as the culinary arts instructor at Tri-County career center. An opportunity to reach students earlier and have summers off to travel? Yes please!
In December of 2019, at the urging of friends and family, I started a side gig of River Willow Culinary. Starting with meal prep and small scale catering, I soon had to switch course in March 2020. Partnering with many of the organizations I had developed relationships with throughout my time in education, and with a small group of volunteers, River Willow partnered with Nelsonville Community dinners to help provide meals to families struggling with Food Access. This act not only fulfilled my need to make sure everyone is fed, but also provided a level of exposure locally that I was unprepared for. When things started opening up again my email was full of requests for caterings. Over the last 4 years, River Willow has grown and grown. I still prioritize my career in education, but love the opportunities that my side gig has provided. In addition to typical catering gigs, I have also delved into private chef experiences with several cabin companies throughout the region. For the past 3 years I have provided catering back stage for Nelsonville Music Fest’s main stage artists, and this will be my 4th year as the featured Chef for Bounty on the Bricks to support the SE Ohio food bank.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While each path has lead me to my current one, I have taken many a road that didn’t lead me where I thought it would-rather it took me where I needed to be. I don’t consider anything a wrong turn, but my life looks a lot different then how I pictured it when I graduated high school in 2000.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Here is my bio. I think the thing that sets me apart is my ability to build partnerships and to lead through kindness and empathy.

Chef Kathryn Mosher, CEC, CHE, is an award-winning culinary educator and professional chef whose career is defined by the belief that we are all capable of greatness when provided with the right opportunities and support. Guided by the core values of kindness, learning, collaboration, empowerment, and perseverance, Chef Katie has spent over 15 years bridging the gap between industry excellence and classroom instruction.
Currently serving as the Culinary Arts Instructor at Tri-County Career Center in Nelsonville, Ohio, Chef Katie mentors the next generation of chefs by modeling technical skills, professionalism and industry expectations. Since joining Tri-County in 2017, she has built a nationally relevant program grounded in authentic learning experiences through Career Technical Student Organizations like ProStart, as well as contests such as NASA HUNCH and Ohio Homegrown. Leveraging strong relationships with local businesses, she has also expanded student opportunities in real-world product development and applied culinary innovation. Her dedication to educational excellence has been recognized with the 2022 C.A.F.E. Secondary Educator of the Year award among other honors. These accolades reflect a career-long commitment to student success that also defined her previous position as the Department Chair for the School of Hospitality at Hocking College.Within the American Culinary Federation (ACF), she has coached gold-medal-winning Knowledge Bowl teams, and is currently focused on empowering female chefs through the ACF group FLAME’s mentorship program.
Beyond the classroom, Chef Katie is the Chef and Owner of River Willow Culinary Services, one of Southeast Ohio’s premier catering and personal chef services, Chef Katie has developed a clientele ranging from vacationing guests in the Hocking Hills looking for a special meal to visiting musicians and artists featured at Stuart’s Opera House, where she is currently the Chef in Residence. Her professional prowess has also earned her the ability to be the featured Chef at Bounty on the Bricks, a local 4 course meal held down a brick-lined street in Athens, Ohio that benefits the Southeast Ohio Foodbank. Since 2014, she has partnered with organizations within Appalachian Ohio such as ACEnet, Rural Action, and Community Food Initiatives, and has been a part of many local projects focusing on mutually beneficial resource-sharing to promote food access throughout the region.
When she isn’t in the kitchen or the classroom, you can find Chef snuggled up with her pups watching a movie or reading, traveling whenever possible, or enjoying the outdoors when the weather permits. Her love for the outdoors once led her to a position as a visiting chef for overnight campers on the Gauley River, a location that holds special personal significance as she met her husband, Matt, while whitewater rafting on the neighboring New River Gorge. She is a proud “bonus mom” to two amazing and talented humans, Maddi and Eli, and a dedicated dog mom to Winston and Layla.

What’s next?
I continue to welcome change and evolution moving into the future. While there are certain large events that i want to continue with far into the future, i am finding great joy in the smaller more intimate events and private chef experiences. I hope to incorporate more private cooking classes into my offerings as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @riverwillowculinary
• Facebook: @riverwillowculinary