Molly Yeh facts for kids

Molly Yeh (born May 22, 1989) is a super talented American chef, author, and TV host. She writes cookbooks, owns a restaurant, and has a popular blog. You might know her from her fun cooking show on Food Network, called Girl Meets Farm.

Molly's Early Life

Molly Yeh grew up in Glenview, Illinois. Her mom, Jody, is Jewish, and her dad, John Bruce Yeh, is Chinese. He is a famous clarinet player! Molly has an older sister, Jenna, who is also a chef. She also has a younger half-sister named Mia.

School Days and Music

Molly went to Glenbrook South High School. She also studied music at the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. There, she played in two percussion groups. These groups, The Rattan Trio and Beat 3, won gold medals two years in a row! This was at a big music contest called the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

Even when she was young, Molly loved to write. She kept many journals. In 2009, she turned these journals into her very own blog.

After high school, Molly moved to New York City. She went to Juilliard School, a famous music school. She studied percussion there and earned a music degree in 2011. While at Juilliard, she also helped write for the school's newspaper.

Molly's Amazing Career

In 2013, Molly and her future husband, Nick Hagen, moved to his family farm. The farm is near East Grand Forks, Minnesota, close to the North Dakota border. Living on the farm, Molly started spending more time on her food blog. She shared personal stories about farm life.

Blog and First Cookbook

Her blog became very popular. People loved her artistic food photos on Pinterest. In 2015, a magazine called Saveur named her "Food Blogger of the Year."

In October 2016, Molly published her first book. It was called Molly on the Range: Recipes and Stories from An Unlikely Life on a Farm. This book won a special award in 2017 called the IACP Cookbook Award. Just like her blog, the book mixed her recipes and food pictures with stories about her life.

TV Shows and Restaurants

Molly started hosting her own cooking show, Girl Meets Farm, on Food Network. The first episode aired on June 24, 2018. The show is filmed right on her farm! She cooks Midwestern food and also includes dishes from her Chinese and Jewish background. Her eleventh season of Girl Meets Farm started in September 2022.

Molly has also been a guest host on a podcast called From the Top. This podcast features young classical musicians. She had actually been on the show twice before as a teenager! She also hosted two other Food Network shows: Ben and Jerry's Clash of the Cones in 2021 and the eighth season of Spring Baking Championship in 2022.

In 2022, Molly opened her own café restaurant called Bernie's. It's in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The restaurant serves Midwestern dishes with some Scandinavian and Jewish flavors.

Molly's Family Life

In 2014, Molly married Nick Hagen. They had met at Juilliard, where he also studied music. They moved to the farm in Minnesota a year before they got married. Nick is a fifth-generation farmer, meaning his family has farmed that land for a very long time!

Welcoming Her Daughters

In November 2018, Molly shared that she and Nick were going to have their first baby. Their daughter, Bernadette Rosemary Yeh Hagen, was born on March 30, 2019. She was named after Nick's great-great-grandfather, Bernt, who started the farm. She was also named after Molly's own great-great-grandfather, Bernard.

In September 2021, Molly announced they were expecting their second child. Their second daughter, Ira Dorothy Yeh Hagen, was born on February 20, 2022. Ira's name was suggested by the director of photography for Girl Meets Farm!