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Why Molly Baz wishes she could use a magical wand to bring cooking to everyone
Molly Baz, recipe developer and owner of mollybaz.com, dreams big. "When I was little I always wanted to be an astronaut." she starts "Then I wanted to be a United Nations translator. After that, I thought I was going to run an art gallery in New York City." So, logically enough, she pursued a degree in art history from Skidmore College, the liberal arts school.
But it was during a period of time in Italy where she studied Renaissance art, that Molly's love for food took over other passions: "I was living with a little old lady named Graziella, who was my homestay 'grandma'. She was not fluent in English - she couldn't even understand me when I said thank you, but she was an amazing cook."
It seems Graziella's main daily activity was to visit the local market, find certain ingredients, then prepare Molly dinner. "She was a devoted fan of the food," Molly continues. "I hadn't had a meal in the way she did. I hadn't been exposed to food seasonality and Italy's reverence of ingredients. It was all I could think of"Oh my God, this is f*cking awesome !'." Molly tells me that the way she cooks was not something she was raised with, and she's certain this is the case to the vast majority of people out there. "My parents weren't seeking out top-quality ricotta or the finest tomatoes - it just wasn't the thing."
Molly tells me about "mind-bending "whoa'-moments" in Italy that made her come home wanting to work with food. In addition, the way she shopped to buy food differed from Molly's experiences. Molly describes: "Instead of going to the supermarket on Sundays for the week, Graziella would go to the market every single day. It was due to the fact that 'you don't know what vendors are going to be at the market, and maybe the peaches look better today than they did yesterday'. This was about respect."
Molly says to me that in quintessential Italian style her Tuscan food was simultaneously simple, rustic and delicious. "Her tomato sauce is forever remembered in my head," she continues. "It's extremely good, and especially during winter since it uses cherry tomatoes, which I believe to be the only tomato varieties that are worth your while in the off-season."
It's apparent by the way Molly talks about food that, she believes that cooking for her is more than combining flavours. It's the whole experience of investigating the available ingredients as well as analyzing what is appealing, and crafting a meal in your mind. "That's just not how my brain was working. I just didn't think about eating that kind of way. Now, of course, it's all I think about," she smiles. This is perhaps why Molly refers to herself as a recipe developer rather than being a cook.
Food, recipes, and rolling with it
To further her journey in the world of food after she left Italy, Molly worked in restaurant kitchens, where she learned cook. It wasn't the final objective "I burned out on places and decided that I didn't wish to run an own restaurant. It was clear that I'd like to be a chef and had to figure out the career which was a good fit for me."
Molly entered the world of food styling due to the fact that "the next logical step from art history, including composition and color, was the art of making food look delicious". As Molly's father was photographer, she believed this could be the approach to deal with food , based on her talents, knowledge, and the way she was raised.
"It worked for a while and I really enjoyed it." she continues, "But ultimately, I had this feeling that I was just cooking and styling other people's food. The feeling is, "Cool, it looks great', and it's your thing to own the photograph, but the food isn't yours. It's somebody else's. I always wanted to cook with my own mind and heart and soul."
So the next step was to start developing the recipes that magazines would use. The chef was already part of the realm of food media by working in food styling for Bon Appetit magazine. She was also introduced to the job of food editor. It was an opportunity she was able to take on. "I did not know the definition of a food editor before that!" she jokes, "But they write and designs recipes and who spends the majority of their working time in the kitchen. It allowed me to work in a restaurant setting as well as be connected with food throughout the course all day." The role clicked. "I realized that this is all I will ever do again,'" she smiles. Molly was promoted to an associate food editor, and later was promoted to the position of senior food editor. She utilized the time to refine her recipes development abilities for the next four years.
The shift from food enthusiast to food stylist, to food editor was completed, but there was one final step on the way. "It was never in my plans to become an actor or to appear on video," she continues. "The Bon Appetit YouTube channel was established before I joined it and was gaining an audience, but it was not popular in the way it is today. A few weeks after I took the job at the time, one of the editors said, "Do you want to do a video?' Then I thought"Oh my god. I'm not sure. I'm not an actress. I thought I was just a behind the scenes person'. But then, I clearly loved the show."
Molly confesses that she was nervous during the first time she was photographed in the test kitchen. "I was thinking, "Can I see them shaking?' Then the video came out, and I thought, 'Wow, this is so fun. The video wasn't part of my plan however it was the Bon Appetit's plans and they simply embraced it." The organic evolution into a food-related personality and the task of "figuring out what exactly it will be to be Molly" was complete.
Cook this Book: Becoming an author
Working at the restaurant Bon Appetit an editor from Clarkson Potter, part of Penguin Random House publishing group reached out to Molly and requested a meeting. "The dream is to get an email from an Penguin Random House email address," she remembers. "I realized this was a cookbook related. I went to the conference as a sign of the times. One thing led to another and all of a sudden, I had a book deal."
"It's an interesting 'tension' when you're putting together a menu plan for your first cookbook," she adds "Because you're simultaneously thinking about dishes that represent most revealing of who I am in the world but also what other cooks tend to cook. What dishes are going to be approachable? It's not about 'How hard will Molly flex within her work What's important is how can I create things that are true to me, but don't seem overwhelming or intimidating, and so just not suitable for everyday cooks. These are meals that I'd make at home, but not in the case of being super extravagant."
Molly says: "75% of what I do is trying to be a brain a amateur cook, and discard everything I know about cooking. I approach cooking like it's only the only time in my life I've gone to the kitchen. Molly has learned to understand what it's as a beginner cook as well as "to be overwhelmed by the amount of food sitting on the counter in the front of your eyes". She says "My job as a recipe developer is to create order for people who are overwhelmed in a way that makes entertaining, but isn't a pain in the ass."
"My biggest worry is that the people in my generation as well as the generation that is younger than mine will have lived their whole existence just grabbing [food delivery app] Caviar. And they'll wake up one day and have an infant on their back and a toddler playing around, and a task to complete and don't know what to place on the table and not even pasta with tomato sauce -- and say, 'F*ck it. I'm ordering from Caviar and again!'. My goal in the world is to stop the possibility of this happening as best as possible."
I asked Molly whether she has plans for a sequel novel. "I am supposed to start making it up as early as three days from now!" she smiles. She tells us that she was offered a second book deal a month ago with the same publisher. It is intended to be a sequel to the first that builds on the knowledge taught in the original book. Stay tuned.
Food that is fun, Caesar salad and Tuna the dog
One of the recipes that is most well-known in Cook This Book is Molly's Caesar salad. Self-proclaimed the 'Queen of Cae Sal', Molly smiles whenever asked what she thinks about the salad. "I do not really have a one-sentence banger of an answer to that!" she says, "I believe it's the greatest salad on the planet. If I go out to a restaurant, and there's caesar salad available There's absolutely no chance I'm not ordering it. I've become infatuated with this dish over time; I've discussed it a lot, and have made the caesar salad often. And people know that now. It's just so amazing. it!"
Maybe it's just that Caesar salad is in line with Molly's philosophy in the sense that food should be enjoyable. It's easy, simple and packed with flavour -this is what food should be, according to Molly. This mindset stems from her own experience in the professional kitchen, rather than eating food and having fun with it: "I've always found such joy in the kitchen when working in restaurants. There was the excitement and highs, as well as the excitement of getting on the line and banging off service while thinking"F*ck, yeah that's what we did'.
Molly has seen the joy that cooking can bring and the stress it could cause: "I hate that I can't just wave the magic wand and create a fun experience for all. When I state that cooking ought to be enjoyable that's because I'm always trying to enjoy myself -but not just the kitchen. If I had asked my husband, "Do you would like to bowl this evening?' he'd answer no, and I'd say, "You're not going to wish to enjoy yourself!" My work here on earth is to make cooking more fun for other people so they can access that joy as well.
If Molly's passion for food was not evident enough from her cooking, this passion has made it into her home life. As seen sometimes on her Instagram and Instagram, she also has a pet dog named Tuna. If asked if tuna was a boring choice to have as food that you love She says: "I do not find tuna to be boring! The water-packed canned tuna cans that we used to use growing up are dry and dull, however high-end oil-packed tuna, such as that you find in Portugal is a delight. It just hits different over there, you know? !"
Molly and her husband Ben was in Portugal while they were conceived of Tuna. While in the pool, on their honeymoon, instead having a baby and deciding to have a wiener puppy. "We were eating lots of canned fish, and I think we just had tuna on the brain. Today, we consume tuna probably four times a every week!" she concludes, laughing.
From Italy across the USA and back to Portugal Molly's love for healthy, simple, and delicious food is more fervent than ever.