Katie Lee Joel to teach class about salmon

Whether she realizes it or not, Katie Lee Joel has become a culinary emissary between Mountain State and the world.

The Huntington native has been all over the globe since she married rocker Billy Joel, and although her palate has evolved through her travels, she still counts food like biscuits and gravy, meat loaf and chicken and dumplings as her favorites.

But what may have seemed like commonplace food to her is downright extraordinary in the uptown world (if you will) in which she now dwells.

"People here have never heard of chicken and dumplings," Joel said from her Long Island home. "They think of a dumpling as something they use in Asian cooking."

She received her culinary calling being practically raised in her grandmother's kitchen, and Joel's love of food has since been the driving force of her career. Her love of food has taken her to Florence, Italy, to study at the British Institute, and to the Hamptons, where she served as the house fishmonger at a popular dining spot as well as contributing to Hamptons Magazine.

She also traveled to San Francisco, where she was introduced to much of American as the host of Bravo's cooking reality show "Top Chef."

Joel's picked up a lot in her globetrotting, but she's also spent a lot of that time educating the masses about some of the food that she grew up with.

"In Hamptons Magazine, I mentioned Jim's Spaghetti House," Joel said. "My mom was really excited."

This week, she'll be returning the favor to the Appalachian home that gave her culinary roots, teaching a class to benefit the Marshall Artists Series as part of their "Kindred Spirits" fundraiser.

Her session will be called "Spawning New Ideas about Salmon," a subject that's close to her heart. When she was still in high school, her mother would often have her prepare the fish, and it's still a favorite at her dinner parties.

Once Joel returns to Long Island, she'll have a full plate, writing her columns and working on various projects, including her Web site, www.oliveandpeach.com. Whatever the medium, it's all about education, both learning about the world's cuisine and giving the world a little taste of her home.