About
Hi, I’m Coco Berryessa.
I’m a food photographer and a new mom, sharing a growing collection of our family’s favorite recipes. Join me on my journey to improve my cooking skills and create delicious meals for the people I love.
Milestones
About the Blog
As a food photographer, perhaps publishing a food blog seems like an obvious development. But, my dreams of experimenting, developing, documenting, and cataloging recipes started long before I took up food photography!
Here’s how Berryessa Kitchen came to be:
I got my first 'real' camera
I had always owned point-and-shoot cameras throughout my childhood. But, 2014 was the year I was gifted a real-life (not a point-and-shoot) camera! I was thrilled. I was going to be the next Ansel Adams!
I grew up peering over my dad’s shoulder as he worked as a graphic designer for as long as I can remember. All I wanted for Christmas as a six-year-old was my very own laptop (shout out to my trusty Dell) so I could learn to use the Adobe Suite like my dad. My fascination for digital processing started long before I got my hands on a ‘real’ camera, so once I had that camera in my hands, it felt like a whole new world had opened up to me!
I felt the initial spark for food blogging
This is the year I verbalized… out loud… that I wanted to start a food blog.
I was so unsure of it all and had no idea how to start. I had photography skills, but I didn’t grow up in an ‘ingredient household.’ I grew up, respectfully, in a ‘granola bar drawer’ household. I was always fed yummy food, but regrettably, cooking wasn’t a skill I developed early on.
My husband has always been supportive of my creative goals. But we simply had other priorities at the time—you know—like work and school and paying bills as a semi-recently married couple. The blog was set on the back burner, and I was okay with that, then. I knew I’d get my full-circle moment!
I went to art school
I loved my time at university, but I was eager to graduate and “start my life” just as much as the next person. Still, I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could from my amazing professors while I earned my fine art degree in photography.
Art school gave me the confidence and creative direction I was craving. I learned analog and historic photography methods, studio and artificial lighting practices, museum-quality archival print and presentation techniques, and more! I knew food and beverage photography was my primary interest, so I did everything I could to make food the subject matter of all my assignments — and boy am I glad I did!
Perhaps the most rewarding part of art school was the opportunity to be a primary photographer in a cookbook that our department published in collaboration with the design and culinary arts departments.
Working alongside a team of chefs and other creatives was invigorating! Seeing my work printed throughout the book and both covers of a published cookbook was a defining moment. The book went on to win two Independent Publisher’s gold medals, one of which was for cover design! I was hooked. I knew then that I’d want to publish my very own cookbook someday.
I taught art school
Immediately after graduating with my BFA degree, I began adjunct teaching and was eventually offered a full-time lecturing position teaching digital photography, artificial lighting, and advanced retouching classes, among others. I love teaching art and plan to continue doing so in whatever capacity my circumstances allow. Sharing my love for art and photography brings me so much joy!
Our family grew
After wading through trials of severe autoimmune disease, infertility, and major surgeries (no colon, still rollin’!), we finally welcomed a beautiful baby boy into our family.
I am so grateful to be home with my boy at this stage. I love being a mom and want to make the most of my time at home with him while doing something for myself. It’s easy to lose yourself as a new mom, but staying creative keeps me… well, me! I can’t think of a better way to combine my love for family, food, and photography than finally entering my food blogging era.
It's go time.
One art degree, a teaching job, photography clients, ileostomy surgery, a baby(?!), and seven whole years from that initial spark later, and we are finally doing this thing!
Berryessa Kitchen is my long-awaited passion project just finding its bearings between naps and tantrums as I navigate learning to cook better meals for my small family. I’m excited to explore this chance to grow as a person, artist, mother, and cook.
Thanks for being here! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!