Molly Baz facts for kids

Molly Baz (born May 9, 1988) is an American cook, someone who creates new recipes, and a food writer. She used to be a main food editor at Bon Appétit magazine. She was also often seen in videos on the magazine's YouTube channel. She left Bon Appétit in 2020. Molly Baz has written two popular cookbooks. They are called Cook This Book (published in 2021) and More Is More (published in 2023). Both of her books became New York Times Best Sellers, which means they sold a lot of copies.

Early Life and Learning

Molly Baz was born on May 9, 1988. She grew up in a town called Rhinebeck, New York. She went to Poughkeepsie Day School and finished there in 2006. After that, she studied art history at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. She graduated from college in 2010.

Molly found her passion for cooking while she was studying in Florence, Italy. During her last year at Skidmore College, she and a friend started something special. They hosted dinners every two weeks. They made these meals using fresh, local ingredients. People from the Saratoga Springs community were invited to join these dinners.

Molly Baz's Career

Starting Out in Cooking (2008–2014)

Molly Baz wanted to become a chef but did not go to a special cooking school. Instead, she worked as a line cook in restaurants. A line cook prepares food on a cooking line in a busy kitchen. She worked in restaurants in Boston and New York City from 2008 to 2014. One of these places was a restaurant called Picholine.

In 2011, she took a break from her jobs. She went on a road trip across the southern United States with her father. Her father is a photographer. On this trip, they visited many barbecue restaurants. Molly learned a lot from expert barbecue pitmasters, who are people skilled at cooking barbecue. In 2013, while in New York, she helped start a food business. It was a catering company called Rustic Supper.

Working at Bon Appétit (2015–2020)

Molly Baz began working for Condé Nast in 2015. She tested recipes for their food website, Epicurious. Later, she moved to Bon Appétit magazine. By 2018, she was a Senior Associate Food Editor there.

In 2016, Bon Appétit started making more videos. Molly Baz began appearing on the magazine's YouTube channel. She cooked alongside other staff members like Andy Baraghani, Sohla El-Waylly, Priya Krishna, Brad Leone, and Claire Saffitz. One popular video series was called Making Perfect. In this series, Molly and others from the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen tried to make "perfect" versions of popular meals. These included pizza or a big Thanksgiving dinner.

Fans on YouTube really liked Molly Baz. A food website called Eater said people praised her for being "casual and easy to relate to." They also liked her clearly explained recipes and her attention to detail. In 2019, Molly, along with Andy Baraghani and musicians Cupcakke and Ella Mai, gave cooking demonstrations. This happened at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco.

In June 2020, the main editor of Bon Appétit, Adam Rapoport, left his job. This happened after a photo of him caused criticism. Also, some employees, including Sohla El-Waylly, said the magazine and its parent company were unfair to employees of color. In August, Sohla El-Waylly, Priya Krishna, and Rick Martinez, who are all people of color, said they would no longer be in the magazine's videos. After this, Molly Baz announced on Instagram that she would also stop appearing in the videos. She left Bon Appétit completely in October 2020.

After Bon Appétit (2020–Present)

In November 2020, Molly Baz started her own food business. It was a subscription service on Patreon called Recipe Club. Through this club, she offered new recipes every week and other content. Business Insider reported that Recipe Club gained "several thousand" subscribers in just one month. Molly chose this subscription model so she could keep creating recipes. This also helped her stay active before her first cookbook came out in 2021.

In December 2020, Molly and her former Bon Appétit colleague, Carla Lalli Music, started a video series. It was a livestreamed show on Instagram Live called You Got Snack'd.

Molly Baz's first cookbook, Cook This Book, was released on April 20, 2021. It was published by Clarkson Potter. The book was very successful with both critics and buyers. It became a New York Times Best Seller. Food52 and Taste of Home both named it one of the best cookbooks of 2021. A review by Publishers Weekly called the book "an exciting crash course in cooking fundamentals." Anne Valdespino from The Mercury News said the book was "downright rebellious." She noted its "unconventional format," "slangy lingo," and "well placed cuss words."

In 2022, it was announced that Molly Baz would be a guest judge. She appeared on the Discovery+ streaming show The Julia Child Challenge. This show was created by the Food Network. Molly Baz published her second cookbook, More Is More, in October 2023. It was also published by Clarkson Potter. Sarah Tansley, a reviewer for Library Journal, suggested the book to readers. She wrote that it gives "plenty of instruction for beginners." She also said it has "spunky flair and big flavor for all kitchens." Joe Ray from Wired magazine later named it one of the nineteen best cookbooks for that year.

Personal Life

Molly Baz and her husband, Ben Willett, moved in 2020. They moved from New York City to Altadena, California. This is a suburb near Los Angeles, California. Their home unfortunately burned down during the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.