Culinary power couple find success on TikTok

How Chef Randy Feltis and fiancé Katherine Grace Moore are building the #KatherineWants empire.

“What do you want for dinner?”

It’s a question some couples dread, having to decide what meal to make their families after the work day is done.

But for Barrie, Ont.-based Chef Randy Feltis and his fiancé Katherine Grace Moore, that question is welcome. In fact, it’s the bread and butter of their social media empire.

The premise behind their business, Katherine Wants, is simple: Katherine Wants, Randy Cooks. Their fun-loving social content features short videos that are a reflection of what the couple often did in their personal lives before going viral. Katherine would request different meals, and Chef Randy would deliver the goods.

Then, around two years ago, the couple decided to create a cooking channel where they could share their love of food.

“When we started sharing more on our personal social media pages about what Randy was cooking, people started asking for recipes,” says Katherine. “We knew fairly quickly that what we were doing for fun was entertaining for people, and they started recreating the recipes.”

Today, Katherine and Chef Randy are a social media power couple, with 730,000 TikTok followers. Over countless videos, Katherine requests anything from sous vide salmon to tiramisu, and Chef Randy delivers, providing viewers with delicious recipes and helpful kitchen tips along the way.

“This may sound wild, but Katherine actually wants it all,” says Chef Randy, on how the pair choose which recipes to feature. “Sometimes we are inspired by something we find at the market or something we have recently had at a restaurant and Katherine needs it again.”

@katherinewants Katherine wants her lamb fix baaa-d. 🥩🥙 #lamb #recipe #recipesoftiktok #summervibes #easyrecipe #fancyfood ♬ La Esmeralda, Act 1, Esmeralda Variation - MetodoVadim

Fortunately, Chef Randy is well-positioned to satisfy his fiancée’s culinary cravings.

An award-winning restauranteur, Chef Randy honed his cooking chops at George Brown College, followed by an apprenticeship at Rosewater Supper Club and Borgo Antigo in Toronto, later spending a year at Rathsallagh House in Ireland.

Since then, Chef Randy has built his reputation in the culinary industry, having worked in a series of high-profile kitchens and owning several successful restaurants.

He also made a following in television, serving as a food expert on hundreds of cooking segments on CityLine since 2009. Thanks to those appearances, Chef Randy has had a lot of experience showing how cooking can be entertaining, educational, and easy-to-follow – even through a screen. The art of content creation is something that has been carefully finessed by Katherine and Chef Randy through the development of Katherine Wants.

“I think we can both agree that the biggest challenge (for Katherine Wants) is finding time to create content,” they say. “Since it has become an income-producing activity for us, we sometimes find it challenging to balance our sponsored and organic content. Having said that, one of the most rewarding things is the opportunity to work with some amazing companies in the culinary industry.”

“The biggest payback is bumping into people who love our content and recipes.”

The couple also need to balance their various other successful businesses. Alongside maintaining Katherine Wants, Chef Randy is the chef behind The Farmhouse — a restaurant in Barrie, Ont. that boasts farm fresh food in a cozy atmosphere, and is a waterfront venue for weddings and corporate functions.

This summer, they also opened Salty Blonde Bagel Bar — a move motivated by their desire to truly bring a proper bagel to Barrie. “The East end is such a tight little community — we felt like they needed a funky neighbourhood joint they could walk to for a coffee, cocktail and casual bite to eat.”

While bagels will be the restaurant’s flagship item, visitors can also find unique small plates on the menu, inspired by some of the dishes Katherine and Chef Randy have had during their travels. “It’s hard for me to pick a favourite item from the menu, but I’d have to say it’s Nino’s Muffaletta and Lox Plate,” says Katherine.

Last, but certainly not least, on the couple’s burgeoning list of entrepreneurial pursuits is the launch of Honey Bee Elixir — an herbal liqueur and digestive.

“We have been living in the restaurant world for 25 years and honestly, you get bored of putting the same things in your coffee or sipping after a meal,” explains Chef Randy. “We thought it would be fun to concoct a new flavour.”

Honey Bee Elixir is made with 42 bee-pollinated herbs, spices, roots, flowers and berries and lightly sweetened with raw honey — made local, as a way to give back to both the hive and farmer.

While cocktail recipes have always been part of the Katherine Wants recipe canon, the launch of Salty Blonde Bagel Bar and Honey Bee Elixir has meant Chef Randy and Katherine are able to show off their bartender skills a bit more on TikTok and Instagram, highlighting the cocktails available at Salty Blonde, alongside ways to use Honey Bee Elixir to elevate your at-home happy hour beverages.

And while Chef Randy and Katherine continue to expand and grow their ventures, they maintain the importance of staying authentic with their Katherine Wants audience. Their followers, they say, help inspire them to take risks and try new things.

“The biggest payback is bumping into people who love our content and recipes.”