Cat Carter

Cat Carter is a restaurateur, magazine editor, food writer, and former consultant who opened Charlotte’s gastronomic giant, L’Ostrica, with her partner (in food and in life), Eric Ferguson in 2024. A citizen of the world, Cat grew up in a bicultural home and on military bases all over the globe. She brings flavors and learnings from multiple cultures into her restaurant and our conversation. Cat shares her sliding door moment of leaving a consulting job to enter the food world and how understanding the language of people and teams has been critical to her success (whether in a new country or business setting.) We discuss her values of curiosity and freedom, how her through-line and love language has always been food, and why vulnerability benefits both the individual and the community. Cat sheds light on the Carolinas as a unique growing region and a place whose strength resides in the fact that much of its contemporary culture is open for definition. Join us for this delicious episode! Find Cat on Instagram @ lostrica_clt, lostrica_mkt or cat_yi_carter. Find us on Instagram @cressence.co, LinkedIn @BetsyFleming or the web www.cressence.co.