- Chicken Mania’s signature dish is a hit
- La Grotta’s understated Italian fare holds its luster
- Ruang Tong excels in nuance
- CinéBistro's food is hit or miss, but the sophisticated setting is a treat
- Bistro Bobette welcomes diners with great food and subtle service
- Belle Vie European Bistro
- With strategic ordering, you can eat well at Basilis
- Bocca Toscana’s fresh food is unpretentious
- The VMFA’s Amuse pleases the eye and the palate
The fact that the $65-per-person tickets are sold out gives some idea of how much of a following these two chefs have. But this may not be the only opportunity to experience their combined talents. Bereika, whose regular job is heading up the kitchen at Secco Wine Bar in Carytown, says that if the Meddle project goes well, there could be an encore. “I’ve got a few ideas for this spring, but nothing is set in stone.”
Bereika’s cooking has been earning raves since Secco opened in the spring of 2010, but working as a chef wasn’t in his career plans originally. In high school, he wanted to be a marine biologist, but he realized that he was more gifted in the arts than in science. So, studied graphic design at Hartford Art School until Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts brought him to Richmond.
While at VCU, Bereika took classes during the day and worked in a kitchen at night. But cooking wasn’t just a job in his eyes; he loved the energy that filled a busy kitchen. “I think that's one of the reasons I eventually came back to cooking professionally,” he says. “That energy and sense of camaraderie is very addictive.”
After graduating, Bereika made a living in graphic design for a while, but after two years, he returned to the work he loves most. He has been cooking professionally for six years now, including stints at restaurants in Italy as well as Richmond. Although he says he doesn’t believe he has a specific style, he strives “for balance in both taste and texture as well as familiarity versus new and unexpected.” Read full story
It’s a wild, wild food world out there, and it’s easy to get lost. I love cookbooks so much that it’s almost become a borderline hoarding disorder, but sometimes you have to venture beyond their pages and see what else you can find to inspire you. Not too long ago, that meant turning on your computer. Now, all you have to do is check your phone or, better yet, your fancy new iPad. And some Read full story
Of course I got lost, but it was a lovely three hours driving around Loudoun County. I recommend it, really: rolling hills, green farmland, sunlight filtering through tall trees.
I was trying to find my way to Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. for a bottling workshop. I’d been given a bottle of their Roundstone Rye for Christmas, and though I hadn’t been a whiskey drinker before that, the smooth, fragrant fire of Catoctin Creek’s version converted me. Read full story
