Conversations with Bee Berrie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bee Berrie.

Hi BEE, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m Bee, I’m a food stylist living and working in Los Angeles and I moved from London England 3 years ago.

I started out my working life with a degree in Medical Microbiology, before working in medical communications for global agencies and pharmaceutical companies for 6 years. During this time, I set up one of London’s first food “trucks”, (in reality a tiny 3 wheeled Italian van!) selling artisan baked goods at food markets at first, then places like the Harrods and Selfridges food halls. My clients included the BBC, Stella MacCartney, ASOS, and various TV shows and I also made wedding cakes for venues including stately homes, The Royal Physic Garden and private parties all over London.

I secured a two book deal with a Harper Collins imprint in 2016, had a side hustle teaching vegan baking at the best cookery schools in the UK, and that’s when my food styling career began. I started writing recipes for Jamie Oliver, became a published author, and assisted on food shoots all over London, building my own client roster over time.

The next move I made, was to LA, for “an adventure before dementia” (!) and since being here, I’ve found a gorgeous niche of food styling for a mixture of commercial clients and publishers, whilst working behind the scenes on developing / testing recipe books. Since being here, I have tested over 1,100 recipes and food styled recipe books for some of the biggest publishers in the world alongside working for market leading kitchenware brand HexClad and many other clients including Penguin Random House, Kite Hill, Willie (Nelsons) Remedy, Peta, and 7Virtues.

Below is my official Bio, in case that’s useful too:
I’m Bee, and I’m an experienced Los Angeles based food stylist and recipe tester with credentials in editorial, advertising, online stills, content and videography.
I moved to Los Angeles from London England in 2022 and I bring a unique mixture of strong European culinary skills with commercial and creative experience to shoots and projects. As a twice published recipe book author, a Leiths culinary school graduate and the founder of an award winning bakery, I have the ability to juggle multiple priorities and skillsets.
In LA, I worked extensively for clients including HexClad, Penguin Random House, Kite Hill, DK Publishing, 7 Virtues, Jinx pet foods and many more.
As well as being a really great cook and a total planner, I always maintain an upbeat, can-do attitude on set, even when the oven breaks, we run out of flour, and the dog steals the gravy mid-shot!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I moved here knowing only one person – making new friends and colleagues, and building a reputation at this stage in my career has been tough work! There are natural peaks and troughs to the freelance workflow and dealing with those takes its toll on the old mental health!

I’ve learned that leaning into my obvious differences (my accent, the different names I use for kitchen kit and ingredients, the blank look I get on my face when a recipe uses gallons or quarts!), was really the key. I simply cannot “fit in” and assimilate completely here as things are quite different to the UK, so embracing my differences, and enjoying them, has perhaps meant that I can offer a different approach or work style to certain clients and that is a memorable point of difference. I’ve also been lucky to work on some great crossover Europe – USA projects, from developing (ghostwriting) an Italian-American recipe book, to working for a London publisher on a Japanese-American recipe book, both of which were really fascinating and satisfying projects.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Here in Los Angeles, I love the variety that working as a recipe writer and food stylist offers – and I love taking every opportunity I can.

From one of my first jobs here as a second assistant on a celebrity alcoholic whipped cream shoot (!), wrapping at 12 midnight at a studio in Van Nuys, to being lead stylist on Brie Larson and Courtney McBrooms debut recipe book “Party People”, over 4 location houses, to ghostwriting and testing recipes in my PJs at home, to styling organic pet foods in a warehouse downtown, this job really keeps me on my toes!

I seem to have found a niche in developing, testing and styling recipe books, which I adore. The idea that I’m a (twice!) published author makes me feel so proud – I’m from a tiny village in the north east of Scotland and not many people like me get to do the work I do, let alone in California. I’m an open book when it comes to sharing expertise and tips, I believe firmly in bringing other women up, especially when they’re from different backgrounds, or socio economic groups like I am.

I’m known for being skilled in vegetarian and vegan cooking (surprisingly underrepresented in the USA I’ve found), and for being resilient and a great problem solver on shoots – there are inevitably bumps in the road and I’m great at finding a way to drive around them.

Next, I’d love to experience working on a TV and film, so I’m visualising and daydreaming and reaching out to people I know here, and channelling my best “don’t ask, don’t get” attitude to make new connections.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m definitely a risk taker! I’ve changed career twice now, and country (5000+ miles) once…I firmly believe that pushing yourself to the edge of your comfort zone can be where the magic happens.

Whether that be in setting up a new business, in asking for what you want in your worklife, or in signing up for projects that are just a little bit more challenging than you feel comfortable with. I like to surround myself with culinary team members who have slightly different skill sets to me – some that are just a little bit better than me in X or Y, but a little less experienced than me in Z, so we can share skills, boost each other and all learn something new.

If I can channel a great mental health day and really go after the sorts of jobs I want, or push myself to learn a newish skill then I’m a happy risk taker. One of my mottos (especially when taking the risk and moving to a new country) is “don’t ask, don’t get”.

Pricing:

• There is a real culture of openness here around rates and fees in production, this is very different to the UK. Considering the impact of the gender paygap in the UK, and then adding the motherhood penalty on top (!), I feel like the real way forward is for women to support women in this industry, so I’m all about sharing info on fees, rates, and how to ensure parity and fairness.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beeberrie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeberriefood/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bee-berrie-1a426428/

Image Credits
Katrina Frederick, Tracie Davies, Matt Russell,