Hi! I'm Katie. Welcome to bits + bites.
You've found my little corner of the internet where I share some of my favorite recipes inspired by my friends, family, and holiday traditions. I'm a self-taught chef with no formal training, which is why every recipe you see is simple and easy with ingredients accessible at any grocery store.
Truly nothing brings me more joy than sitting around a table filled with food and sharing drinks, stories, and laughs with the ones I love, and that's how this food blog got started.
My love for food and being in the kitchen has always been there, as evident as above. I've spent my entire life in the Chicagoland area, growing up in the southwest suburbs and now living on the north side of Chicago. I come from a family that had family dinner *almost* every night, and every Sunday we have Sunday Night Dinners.
Not only was the passion for cooking instilled in me at a young age, living so close to Chicago, my parents raised kids who loved the city and appreciate all the restaurants it has to offer. I love trying any and all Chicago restaurants, which you'll see occasionally on the blog, like the best burgers in Chicago, 10 of the best patios, best bottomless brunches, or the best Irish pubs in Chicago.
I started bits + bites back in 2016 with absolutely no photography, videography or culinary training. I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and majored in finance. Since I was young, I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and in college, I realized marketing was my bread and butter. It was analytical yet creative, a synergy of two of my strengths.
After working in a corporate job doing finance for a digital ad agency and semi-dabbling in the food blog world, I noticed I was approving payments for huge household brands for millions of dollars all in the world of social media. I decided to leave the finance world and start a career in social media and food blogging.
Since then, there's been lots of learning, ebbs and flows, such is life, right? I'm now fully self-employed and love creating new recipes for you on bits + bites!
Not sure where to start? Here are a few of my personal favorite recipes