Chef Kenneth and Baker Tamara

Royal Cheesecake & Varieties

Chef Kenneth J and Baker Tamara own Royal Cheesecake & Varieties.

Chef Kenneth J is culinary certified and Baker Tamara is grandma certified. In 2013, after relocating from Detroit, MI, they started Royal Cheesecake & Varieties at a kiosk in Northgate Mall in Durham for the holiday season.

In 2014, they applied for several farmers’ markets and were finally accepted at the Midtown Farmers Market in North Hills. As time went on, they sold their desserts at various farmers markets, and festivals and had their first brick-and-mortar in Phoenix Square in Durham (2016).

After that lease ended, they decided to travel to various festivals throughout North Carolina and the pandemic happened. They reviewed and pivoted to still sell their desserts and "God Over Covid" t-shirts which were featured on ABC11 news.

In 2021, they won a grant and used that money to buy and outfit a dessert truck. The dessert truck debuted in April 2022 and attended various rodeos and festivals. In 2022, they received another grant which they leveraged to obtain an SBA loan which allowed them to open another retail bakery on July 30, 2023 (National Cheesecake Day) and their commercial kitchen.

Now you can purchase their desserts from their bakery, or their food truck or order online for local pickup and nationwide shipping.