food
The couple — affianced when they started this venture, now they’re newlyweds — seem to have hit upon a concept tailormade for 2020, even though it wasn’t a consideration when they were planning a restaurant. “It’s been successful beyond what we expected. It turns out that we probably have the ideal post-COVID blueprint for a restaurant. It is heavy on to-go, and we have very limited seating,” said Todd Josko, whose day job is working as a lobbyist in Ballard Partners’ Tampa office. “We have a lot of local political folks that come in from both sides of the aisle — the County Commission, the City Council. We have elected officials from Pinellas County who make the trip over,” he noted. “In a divisive political environment, sometimes it’s nice to just talk about cookies and muffins.” Badia Josko, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, is in charge of the kitchen, and the menu reflects her international background — a fusion of flavors from the Mediterranean and Europe.
Born in Morocco, she grew up in Switzerland and moved to Tampa in 1999. English was the last of the four languages she learned. The others being Arabic, German and French. “I didn’t speak English when I moved to the U.S.,” she said. “I couldn’t even say ‘hi’ and ‘bye.’” Brioche is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (it’s closed on Monday) for breakfast, lunch and brunch. Its footprint is small — 750 square feet — with only four indoor tables, so most of their patrons take food to go. Not to be confused with fast food, said Chef Badia. All of the baked goods, salads, soups and sauces are made in house. Brioche’s offerings are “more elevated” but “not too fancy” she said. “You feel like you’re buying something somebody made at home.” In addition to scratch cooking, Badia Josko estimates 90% of the ingredients she uses are organic with meats and cheeses sourced from Europe.
Left: Todd and Badia Josko launched Brioche Café and Bakery in Tampa. The 750-square-foot bakery serves up breakfast, lunch and brunch six days a week. Right: Opened in June, Brioche Café and Bakery has become a popular spot for local, county and regional elected officials to grab a pastry and put politics aside.
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INFLUENCE Fall 2020