Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathy Tiberi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kathy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
My primary mission is to inspire others though healthy, gourmet food. I also want to serve as a role model and mentor to other women of all ages who are interested in starting their own business, particularly in the culinary industry.
Kathy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend Culinary School for my “midlife crisis”! A middle aged woman taking a new journey hoping to succeed professionally.
I am currently private cheffing for families in the Los Angeles and Northern Scottsdale area. I enjoy making use of ever changing seasonal foods, customizing menus and being creative with taste combinations from around the world. Artistic plating is also very important to me and really adds a “wow” factor to every meal.
My services ranges from in-home tastingmenus to handson culinary parties to corporate teambuilding cooking events. I made one guest chef appearance on television and I have consulted for cooking scenes in other productions. I am looking forward to more culinary experiences and opportunities so that I can expand the reach of my brand.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
This is my entire story of how I became SimplyGourmetbyK! But COVID really made me pivot. At the time, I was teaching cooking classes, mostly for corporate team building events. When that got shut down and restaurants closed, many people were looking for gourmet home deliveries and in-house cheffing services. I offered both of those services – with a particular emphasis on healthy gourmet, particularly for those clients who wanted to shed unwanted COVID weight gain. For in-house cheffing, many clients also wanted something out of the ordinary – so, I developed a handful of beautiful five-to-eight course tasting menus . . . elegant, but still healthy.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Honestly, before my culinary business began I had no social media at all. Our kids encouraged me to just go with Instagram! I watched instructional videos, asked lost of questions and experimented . . . a lot. I also kept up with chefs I had met, especially from cooking classes I had taken abroad, and looked at how they posted their culinary creations. I became fascinated with videotaping my own creative process and photographing the end product – which I then posted on Instagram. “A picture paints a thousand words” . . . and word spread quickly. It also helps to add some personality to your postings. People want to see the person – and understand the story – behind the creation. My social media presence also led to my current ambassador Chef with Chef Works Co.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://simplygourmetbyk.com
- Instagram: SimplyGourmetbyK
- Ambassador @chefworks #CWcrew22
- Linkedin: Kathy Tiberi
Image Credits
Ryann Lindsey Photographer