The Next Food Network Star: West Chester's very own Katie Cavuto!

Calling all foodies!

The Next Food Network Star (Season 5) premieres this Sunday, June 7th! And, one of the 10 finalists is a local woman named Katie Cavuto who was raised right here in West Chester, PA!

Katie Cavuto grew up in West Chester with her mother (Jeanne - a teacher at Stetson Middle School where Katie went) and father (Robert - owner of Carpets by Cavuto) as well as her three siblings. Her parents have been married for 35 years; they are very active at their church (St. Maximilian Kolbe Church).

Katie Cavuto was a gymnast since the age of three, and she competed through high school. She was on the Junior Olympic National team in 1997. She was injured several times and was not able to continue competing in college.

Years of competitive gymnastics sparked her interest in nutrition. She developed her passion for food and cooking at Goose Creek Grill in West Chester, Pa. She graduated from Johnson and Wales University with a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition and an Associates of Science in Culinary Arts. She went on to get her Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition at Tufts University where she also attended the Frances Stern Nutrition Center and earned her degree as a Registered Dietitian.

Now, at the age of 30, she owns Healthy Bites, LLC out of Philadelphia – a company that offers in-home nutrition and culinary services, organic meal delivery service, and community/private cooking lessons. She has been doing this since June 2002, but she officially incorporated it in March 2008. Her idea of “Green Cuisine” is about feeding your body through the quality of the ingredients (organic, healthy foods) as well as decreasing your carbon footprint (buy locally and buy organic). It is her mission to use her knowledge and skills to show others how easy and fun it can be to live a healthy lifestyle. To Katie, a diet is temporary, but a lifestyle is lasting.

Visit www.foodnetwork.com/star to see behind the scenes of the show and Katie.

Sarah and I are going to be interviewing Katie on Thursday. Please leave a comment and let us know what questions you'd like us to ask her for you! We'll post all of her answers here on Friday! And, we just may have a special Food Network giveaway for you then too! Hint, Hint!

We can't wait to chat with her and get a behind-the-scenes view of The Next Food Network Star workings!