Sara Rae Gore

Sara Rae Gore is one of the original stars of the successful and critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production Pieces. The former Miss Teen USA finalist from New York has appeared in national print ads for Panasonic, Bounce Fabric Softener, Viacom, and Toshiba. Her television acting credits include All My Children, Masked Rider, and a variety of TV commercials for major brand advertisers. She also has appeared on the Food Network's Ready, Set, Cook.

As the latter credit might suggest, Sara Rae is an accomplished chef as well as an actor. After earning a position as sous chef in a Manhattan French restaurant, Sara worked as a caterer, a private cooking instructor, a personal chef to clients who are well-known TV personalities, and most recently for world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Recently, she agreed to become the executive chef for KitchenBar, an upscale chain restaurant that will debut in 2006.

Although both were her passions, early on, acting was considered her career and cooking her hobby. Eventually that changed and the two became equal driving forces in her life. What was once a hobby; became a second career.

While both an actor and "foodie," Sara Rae is also one smart cookie. She graduated high school early and was awarded the Dean's Scholarship for academic achievement at Manhattan Marymount College where she was accepted into the Theater Arts program and went on to graduate summa cum laude as a Communication Major with a Media Studies concentration and a Theater Minor. Currently she lives and works in New York City.

SaraRae's column New York Dish appears every Thursday exclusively on CDKitchen.com

CDK Today with Valerie Whitmore