Meet the Lavish Cuisine
Personal Chef Team
San Antonio
Chef Catherine Richey
It All Started Long Before I Became a Chef
I was raised within walking distance of the Panama Canal in the small rainforest town of Gamboa, where food was simply a way of life.
Fresh mangoes picked from neighborhood trees, seafood from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, roadside fruit stands, and the vibrant flavors of Latin America shaped the way I experienced the world from an early age.
Living in Panama also sparked something that has stayed with me ever since—a deep curiosity about culture, people, and the stories told through food.
That curiosity still follows me wherever I travel. Whether I'm wandering local markets, taking cooking classes, joining food tours, or sitting down in a family-owned restaurant, I'm always learning. Every destination teaches me something new that eventually finds its way onto my table—and, ultimately, yours.
I believe the best meals nourish more than our bodies—they tell the story of a place, a family, and the people gathered around the table.
From Teacher to Personal Chef
Before becoming a personal chef, I spent nine years teaching first grade for the Department of Defense—first in Panama and later in Puerto Rico.
At first glance, teaching and cooking may seem like very different careers.
Looking back, I don't think they are.
Both begin with listening.
Both require creativity, patience, preparation, and the ability to help people feel comfortable.
Whether I was creating lessons for a classroom or preparing dinner for a family, my goal has always been the same: to create an experience where people feel cared for.
When my youngest child entered school full-time, I finally gave myself permission to pursue the dream that had quietly been growing for years.
In 2012, I founded Lavish Cuisine.
Fifteen Years Around the Table
For more than fifteen years, I've had the privilege of cooking for families throughout San Antonio.
Some clients have welcomed me into their homes every week for more than a decade.
I've celebrated milestone birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, holiday dinners, and ordinary Tuesday evenings that became unexpectedly memorable.
Those experiences have taught me something important.
Exceptional food is only the beginning.
People remember how they felt.
They remember laughing with friends while someone else handled dinner.
They remember finally sitting down instead of spending the evening in the kitchen.
That's why my philosophy has become...
It All Starts at the Table™
A Modern Approach to Food & Well-Being
Food has always been at the center of my work.
Today, it's also at the center of my continuing education.
Through advanced coursework at Harvard Medical School and my certification as a Health and Life Coach, I've deepened my understanding of nutrition, longevity, women's health, and the science behind lasting behavior change.
I believe exceptional food and good health are not competing goals.
They're meant to exist together.
Whether I'm preparing an intimate dinner party or helping families enjoy healthier everyday meals, my goal remains the same:
To create experiences that nourish both body and soul.
Harvard Medical School Continuing Education:
• Designing a Sustainable Nutritional Plan
• The Science of Happiness & Healthspan
• Women's Health & Wellness
Catherine and Nicole are members of the United States Personal Chef Association.
Nicole's passion for cooking began in childhood, growing up in a family where food, tradition, and gathering around the table were simply part of everyday life. 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.
Chef Nicole Locastro
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 in 2015, 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.
