A Different Piece of the Pie
If you’ve worked with us, you’ve worked with Tim Bereika. Tim is a web designer and our lead developer. He has a great eye for detail, and is a master of user experience. His websites flow, and look darned good. It’s almost as if he has a knack for eye-catching presentation…
If you’ve dined in Richmond over the past two decades, you’ve likely eaten either Tim’s food or food prepared by someone taught by Tim.
Tim, you see, took a roundabout path to becoming a computer whiz. He’s also a wonderful chef.
Chef Tim (we like to call him that) started out cooking in Richmond, and a serious culinary curiosity found him on a flight to Tuscany, Italy. He studied at the Culinary Institute of Florence, and spent his off time working at Ristorante Ricchi, which at the time was considered one of the best eateries in the region.
Chef Tim was the culinary brains behind Secco Wine Bar in The Fan, and became the Executive Sous Chef at Mosaic Catering and Events – Richmond’s largest caterer. Local and regional publications named him Best New Chef and Chef of the Year.
Chef Tim still likes to chef every now and then, and aside from cooking for friends and family, he started a YouTube channel in 2015 with a ton of recipes and reviews.
Tim told us,
“At the time, I was the executive chef at a casual eatery, still a from-scratch kitchen, but I was lacking a creative outlet. My background was in more upscale, creative fare working with a small team that wanted to learn. My current situation was very different, and I needed a way to express creativity while providing instruction at the same time. Kitchen & Craft allowed me to share some of my past recipes, current culinary ideas, and thoughtful teaching to a broad audience.”
Kitchen & Craft has over 122,000 subscribers, and his video Amazing Focaccia has over 2.3 million views. Most of his videos are between 8 and 15 minutes long, and he does them in his home kitchen. No fancy studio or pre-made dishes – he just whips stuff up and shows you how to do it too. Every once in a while, a friend, his wife, or even his son will help out and man a camera, but it’s generally just him and a spatula. He’s also got an Instagram channel full of tasty eye candy.
Here lately, Chef Tim has been on a bit of a pizza kick. If you were to watch one of his pizza videos, you would be also. His videos have become so popular that several of the leading home pizza oven manufacturers have sent him a new or prototype oven to run through the paces. He’s honest in his reviews, and goes from the unboxing through a finished pie. He’s also partnered with 18 different brands to feature their products and/or services.
Most of his audience is in the 25-44 range, and 60% are male. Just over a third come from the United States, so his production techniques and presentation are resonating globally. While he does use some lighting gear, and his camera equipment is semi-pro, there’s nothing super-fancy about what he does. He explains the dish, shows you the ingredients, walks you through the prep, and then tells you how darned good it tastes.
Now if we could just convince him to cook for us…
Get started with Chef Tim’s favorite overnight pizza dough recipe:
