Kathy Casey
Kathy Casey is the owner of Kathy Casey Food Studios–Liquid Kitchen, a full-service global agency specialising in food, beverage, and concept development for airport concessions, hotels, cruise lines and multi-unit consultation as well as brand launches, onsite training and opening assistance.
She is a celebrated chef, mixologist, and pioneer in the bar-chef movement. Early in her career, she was lauded as a Top 10 Chef by Food & Wine Magazine. She is touted as the original Bar Chef and was named one of the Top 10 most influential bar people of the past 25 years. Kathy is the CEO of Kathy Casey Inc. which is the umbrella to her multiple businesses.
Clients range from ACCOR Hotels & Resorts, Norwegian Cruise Line, Airport Dimensions, The Club, Sandals Resorts International, Monin, Alaska Seafood Marketing, Marriott Hotels, Tillamook, The National Honey Board, California Pizza Kitchen, and Orca Bay Seafood, as well as spirit companies, have sought her company’s innovation and development skills. Kathy and her team have created multiple award-winning concepts, menus, and programs for clients such as Norwegian Cruise Line, including VIBE Vista awards for “Cocktails on Tap” 2019 Best Overall Beverage Program, 2020 “Bespoke Cocktails” Best Beverage Menu Revamp and BevX Multi-concept Hospitality Beverage Program Award.
As a brand owner, licensee, and operator, Kathy, and her team understand operations. Her hospitality brands include Dish D’Lish a “Food to Go Go®” concept and the companion line of retail and foodservice products, Rel’Lish Burger Lounge™ and Lucky Louie Fish Shack®. Her newest concepts include SHOT BAR Pop-up which went viral on social media and was featured in Jimmy Fallon’s monologue on the Tonight Show, also a Cheers 2021 BevX award winner for Best Single-Concept Hospitality Beverage Program, and her soon-to-be-launched Chicky™- a ghost kitchen brand.
A savvy spotter of what’s hot on the culinary and cocktail scene, Kathy is an industry leader in trend identification. An engaging speaker and hospitality expert, Kathy is a frequent presenter at the VIBE Beverage Conference, The Flavor Experience, National Restaurant Association, Culinary Institute of America, FAB (Airport Food & Beverage Conference), and Tales of the Cocktail.
She has been featured in numerous national publications including Esquire, USA Today, Fortune, People Magazine, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Time Out, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, Food Network, Travel Channel, The Larry King Show, Fine Living’s Great Cocktails, CBS This Morning and hosted PBS Cooking in the Beautiful Northwest and Small Screen Networks Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen cocktail show. Her radio show Dishing with Kathy Casey aired weekly for over 10 years on KOMO News Radio, and the companion blog was included in Saveur.com’s Sites We Love.
An accomplished writer and a Julia Child Cookbook award winner she is the author of ten cookbooks including the James Beard Award-nominated Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table and Sips & Apps
Giving back is important to Kathy. She is a co-founder of the SBAAC (small business airport action committee) supporting small, minority, and women-owned airport restaurant and retail businesses. She advocates for small business with commissioners, local and national government, and mentors independent startup businesses.
When she’s not dreaming up “the next big thing,” Kathy can be found shaking up cocktails using ingredients from her urban garden, or searching for the best new #tastytravel locations!