Kit Wohl

Kit Wohl is an award-winning writer, photographer, and artist. A lifelong food and wine enthusiast, set her on a culinary path. Since 2005, she has authored twelve cookbooks that celebrate cuisine and her native New Orleans. Wohl has worked with chefs, restaurants, and hotels across the United States as CEO and creative director of Wohl & Company, a New Orleans-based advertising, public relations and marketing firm. She attended John McCrady School of Art and graduated from Tulane University.

Authored works

Wohl's most recent work is the James Beard Foundation's Best of the Best: A 25th Anniversary Celebration of America's Outstanding Chefs, by Kit Wohl, Foreword by Martha Stewart Photography by Susie Cushner. As the James Beard Foundation celebrated their 25th anniversary, this lush volume compiled the recipients of the prestigious Outstanding Chef Award, featuring a profile of each winner by author Kit Wohl, along with sumptuous recipes, photography and a foreword by Martha Stewart. From Wolfgang Puck to Tom Colicchio, discover the culinary philosophy and passion behind each prizewinner's path to the kitchen, all contained in a beautiful collector's piece. An inspiration for a generation of chefs, James Beard set the standard through his cooking, teaching, consulting, writing, and media appearances. In honor of Beard s unrivaled legacy as the father of the gourmet movement, the James Beard Foundation established the annual James Beard Awards, which recognize excellence in food, beverage, and other culinary industries. Annual additions of each years winner are available online.

P & J's Oyster Cookbook

The Sunseri family asked her to write and photograph The P&J Oyster Cookbook, awarded Cookbook of the Year by New Orleans Magazine in 2009. The P&J Oyster Cookbook is a collection of more than 120 oyster recipes provided by chefs who revel in cooking the luscious bivalve plucked from the Gulf of Mexico. Featuring recipes from legendary New Orleans restaurants such as Commander's Palace, Galatoire's, Mother's, and Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House, this beautifully photographed volume by Wohl also includes favorite recipes handed down through several generations of the P&J Oyster Company's owners, the Sunseri family.

New Orleans Classic Series:

In 2015, Wohl released her ninth book in the New Orleans Classic series, New Orleans Classic Celebrations, focussing on the unique Creole cuisine that permeates many of the city's restaurants and homes. She created the concept, marketing strategy, designed, authored and photographed the Classic cookbook series, each 96-pages with 50 recipes. "New Orleans Classic Desserts," 2007 led to Classic Appetizers, and Classic Seafood quickly following in 2008. Classic Gumbos & Soups, 2009 was named Gourmet magazine's Cookbook of the Month. In 2012 brought New Orleans Classic Cocktails as well as Brunches. New Orleans Classic Celebrations was released in 2013. The concept and design has been exported to 12 other cities.

Reviews:

“This book is irresistible: it’s hugely appealing to anyone who like to laugh while learning, it is a feast for the eyes, the recipes are easy to understand, and they work! My kind of book.” –Jeremiah Tower

“The book reads like a series of short stories, the photographs are so wonderful you want to lick them, and the dishes themselves will bring you to your knees in joy. It just doesn’t get any better than this!” –Linda Ellerbee

“Any time you need reassurance about the state of New Orleans, you can renew your faith at the city’s world-famous restaurants, or, equally as reviving, simply look through and cook from Kit Wohl’s mouth-watering book." -Lily Binns, Saveur Magazine

"Savoring these treasured New Orleans recipes is almost as good as being there again. Close your eyes and experience the city. Heaven on your tongue." - Sue Grafton

In 2005, Wohl authored the Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook^[1] for the famous restaurant. The award-winning book spans 224 pages of the restaurant’s famed cuisine, and features photography by David Spielman.

Public relations and corporate communications

Wohl started her career with Warner Bros. in the early 1970s in charge of Southern publicity. During this time, she was charged with numerous high-profile public relations tours. Her assignments included work with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Ernest Borgnine, Evel Knievel, Michael Crichton and Bette Midler, among others.

She continued her career as a public relations and communications manager with famed restaurateur and entrepreneur, Al Copeland. With Copeland, Wohl managed corporate media relations for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, an international fast-food chain. She also managed Copeland’s high-profile World Powerboat racing tours, which featured an array of celebrities such as Kurt Russell, Don Johnson, Chuck Norris, Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Constantine II of Greece.

Wohl was also the public and media communications manager for New Orleans’ famed Arnaud's restaurant, a position that eventually led her to write the Arnaud’s cookbook.

Awards:

Artwork

Wohl, working in her New Orleans studio

Wohl’s artwork has been featured in private and public galleries internationally. Her design commissions range from commercial architectural projects to sculpture and chandeliers; her largest commission was a seven-thousand-pound ceiling sculpture of cast aluminum. Wohl's work is represented in many private collections from New Orleans to New York, Australia, and Colombia.

COLLECTIONS Numerous Private Collections Belterra Casino Resort & Spa, Indiana. Boomtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Grand Exuma, The Bahamas. Memberships Louisiana Association of Metal Artists Former member of the Board of Directors of New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)

Wohl resides in New Orleans with her husband, Billy. Her personal website can be found here. An interview with Wohl discussing her personal history with cooking can be found here. Her welding and artwork website can be found here

Footnotes