About Us

Catherine Richey was raised within walking distance of the Panama Canal, in the small rainforest town of Gamboa. She grew up enjoying the fresh tropical fruits and vegetables grown in the rain forest, seafood from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and freshwater fish from the lakes of Panama. Living in Latin America gave Catherine the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. After each trip, Catherine would return home to recreate each country’s culinary delights.

Catherine graduated from Panama Canal College with an Associate of Arts and then transferred to Florida State University to study Hospitality Administration. Close to finishing her degree in Hospitality Administration, Catherine had a change of heart, transferred to the University of North Florida, and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education.

Catherine returned to the Republic of Panama and taught first grade for four years for the Department of Defense. She relocated to Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, and taught first grade for another five years. Because cooking was always on her mind, her students were often mixing up ingredients and “cooking” in the classroom as lesson extensions.

In 2004, Catherine relocated to San Antonio, Texas. With the last of her three children entering school full-time in 2012, Catherine set her eyes on her dream of owning a culinary business.

Catherine graduated from the Culinary Business Academy and obtained her Texas Food Safety Manager Certification in February 2012. Her business, Lavish to Lite Bites, quickly became successful and she became an active member of the United States Personal Chef Association. In 2014, Catherine became a Certified Personal Chef, an industry endorsement of professional expertise.

Catherine regularly participates in continuing education opportunities at the annual National Personal Chef Conference, the Culinary Institute of America, recreational cooking schools, and the Institute of Child Nutrition. Catherine is an active volunteer with the Chefs Move to Schools Initiative.

Many clients have remarked that “Lavish to Lite Bites” is a mouthful (pun always intended), which has led to a rebranding under the business name “Lavish Cuisine.” You still receive the same chef with years of experience as a Personal Chef, just a new name.

Catherine’s employs a team of qualified independent contractors. We adhere to the strict guidelines set forth in the United States Personal Chef Association Code of Conduct.

Nicole’s passion for cooking started almost as soon as she was born in Bangkok, Thailand and was adopted by an Italian father and a German mother.  She began cooking with her father and Italian grandmother around the age of 2, mastering chocolate pudding, meatballs and sauce, pizza, pizzelles, and cannolis.

Nicole continued her food exploration as soon as she could get a job at the age of 15 and started working in the restaurant business.  She has over 27 years of food service industry experience learning every aspect of the business.  Her experience includes everything from hosting, waiting tables, bartending, restaurant and bar management, catering, and running a family-owned meal assembly business.

Nicole got married and had her son Walker at the age of 40.  Unfortunately, Walker was born with SCIDS (commonly known as the bubble boy disease) and her food career had to take a very long time out.  SCIDS, in basic terms, means that Walker was born with no immune system.  Walker received his life-saving bone marrow transplant when he was 3 months old and the family continued to live quarantined at home until Walker was 1 ½ years old.

Around the summer of 2015 Walker was doing incredibly well in his post-transplant recovery and Nicole was able to start working again part-time.  Through a mutual friend, Nicole found Catherine and Lavish Cuisine, and was finally able to continue her food journey, now in the form of personal chef services and catering.  Working for Catherine and with such a diverse clientele, Nicole’s passion for food has been reignited, and she is looking forward to the next chapter in her food journey.