It was evident to Katherine and her mother Georgia, that she had an affection for the culinary arts from an early age. There was always something cooking in the Afendoules kitchen, and Katherine was eager to learn and experiment.  Her mother never discouraged this curiosity, allowing Katherine to enjoy a natural love of creating recipes.

While still in high school, Katherine’s work experience began at a family restaurant, where she worked her way through the ranks; server, cook, and then shift manager. Upon graduating, Katherine’s family urged her to attend a local university to study subjects unrelated to cooking. Her studies ranged from Psychology, Philosophy, Graphic Arts, Art History, and Business. After some years of exploration, she received a degree in Accounting while working in the culinary profession.

She apprenticed at a fine dining establishment in Dayton, Ohio from 1982 to 1984. Her skills continued to grow as she worked in a variety of different types of food service facilities. These included a country club, retirement community, pizza place, and hotel. Katherine learned all of the ways in which these establishments operate and prepare food.

In 1985 she became a member of the American Culinary Federation, Dayton Chapter, where she served as secretary. It was at a meeting for an ACF charity dinner that she met her husband, Chef Urs Emmenegger. Shortly thereafter, Urs was transferred through the Marriott Corporation to the Warner Center Marriott in the San Fernando Valley.

Starting over in a new location, Chef Katherine decided to take a different approach to her career by opening Entrée Preneur, a small business devoted to all things culinary. Her services included catering parties and offering culinary instruction. She taught classes for the Learning Annex and other local schools. Entrée Preneur is still owned and operated by Chef Katherine.

Remaining strong with the ACF, Katherine served as Treasurer of the ACF/Southwest Association of Chefs and Culinarians. She earned her certification as Working Chef in 1990 (now called Certified Chef de Cuisine) and was awarded the chapter’s prestigious Chef of the Year award in 1991.

Chef Urs made one last move with Marriott, which had Katherine starting over in San Diego.  For fun, Katherine entered the KPBS pizza cook-off. As one of the finalists, she earned a spot on the television presentation of the winning recipes. It was there that Katherine became aware of a new teaching venue opening in Pacific Beach, The Great News! Cooking School. She has been teaching at the school since it opened in 1996, and now serves as Executive Chef.

In 2004, Katherine became a charter member of the ACF Chefs and Culinarians of San Diego, where she served as secretary and editor of the chapter newsletter. She was honored with the  Chef of the Year Award in 2006.

Chef Katherine resides in San Diego with Urs, her husband of 20 years. She is a home schooling mom of two wonderful children, Alexa and Joe.