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What is it that Molly Baz wishes she could wave a magic wand and bring cooking to everyone
Molly Baz, recipe developer and owner of mollybaz.com is a dreamer with big dreams. "When I was little I always wanted to be an astronaut." she starts "Then I was interested in becoming an United Nations translator. After that, I thought I would like to operate the art museum in New York City." That's why, naturally, she went on to earn a master's study in art history at Skidmore College, the liberal arts college.
It was in a period of time in Italy, studying renaissance art that her passion for food began to overshadow her other interests: "I was living with a little old lady named Graziella whom I called my"grandma" at my homestay. She spoke no English and couldn't be understood when I told her thank you. But she was an amazing cook."
The main activity was to visit the local marketto find some ingredients, and cook Molly dinner. "She just lived for the food," Molly continues. "I have never eaten such a way. I wasn't exposed to Italian food seasons and the reverence for ingredients. But I was like, 'Oh, man it's amazing! !'." Molly informs me that this kind of cooking didn't come up with and is certain that it's true for the majority of people who live in the world. "My parents were not looking for high-quality ricotta and the best tomatoes - it just wasn't the thing."
Molly talks to me about "mind-bending "whoa" moments" in Italy which led her to come home and want to learn more about food. In addition, the way she shopped to buy food differed to Molly's experiences. Molly describes: "Instead of going to the grocery store on Sunday for the week, Graziella went to the market each day. The reason was that you didn't know what vendors are going to be there - and perhaps the peaches are more attractive today than yesterday'. This was about respect."
Molly tells me that, in quintessential Italian style the Graziella's Tuscan cuisine was both easy, rustic and delicious. "Her tomato sauce has been imprinted in my memory," she continues. "It's extremely good, and especially during winter since it uses cherry tomatoes, which I believe to be the only tomatoes in season that are worth your while outside of the season."
It's apparent by how Molly speaks about food that, she believes that cooking for her is about more than just making flavours. It's all about exploring the ingredients on offer, considering what looks good while creating the perfect meal with your own mind. "That's just not how my mind worked. I just didn't think about eating this way. Now, of course, it's all I think about," she smiles. That's perhaps the reason Molly describes herself as an ingredient developer, not being a cook.
Restaurants, recipes and rolling along
To continue her professional journey in the world of food after leaving Italy, Molly worked in restaurant kitchens, where she learned to cook. But it wasn't the end desired goal "I burned out on restaurants and decided I didn't wish to run an own restaurant. But I knew I wanted to cook and needed to determine the path which made sense to me."
Molly began her journey into food styling, because "the next logical step from art history, including composition and color, was to make food look delicious". As Molly's father was a photographer, she felt that this was the best method to interact with food , based on her skills, expertise and how she was brought up.
"It worked for a few days and I enjoyed it," she adds, "But ultimately, I felt like I was just cooking and fashioning food items for others. It's like, 'Cool, it looks great', and it's your thing to own the photo, however the food isn't yours. It's somebody other's. I was hoping to cook, from my own brain and heart."
The next thing to do was to start creating the recipes that magazines would use. Her experience was already in the world of food media through food styling at Bon Appetit magazine, and was then introduced to the position as food editor. This was a position she was able to take on. "I was a bit unsure of what a food editor was prior to this!" she jokes, "But it's a person who writes and creates recipes and spends 75% of their working time cooking. This was an opportunity for me to be back in the restaurant environment, and be in touch with food throughout the course of the day." The role clicked. "I realized that this is the only thing I ever need to do ever again and I was like, 'This is it'" she smiles. Molly was promoted to senior associate food editor and later was promoted to senior food editor and utilized the time to refine her recipes development abilities over the following four years.
The shift from food enthusiast to food stylist to food editor was complete however there was one final step in the journey. "It was never in my intention to be known as a celebrity and also to be featured in videos," she continues. "The Bon Appetit YouTube channel had already been set up when I joined and had some traction but it wasn't popular in the way it is today. A few weeks after I got the job and was hired, one of the production staff wanted to know if I would like to make a video? and I said"Oh my god. I don't know. I'm not an actress. I believed I was a behind-the-scenes person'. But then, I clearly was in love with this."
Molly admits to being anxious the very first time she appeared on camera in the test kitchen. "I thought, "Can I see them shaking?'! When the video started to play, I was out, and I thought"Wow, this was an absolute blast. The video wasn't part of my plan however this was the Bon Appetit's plans and they was just going along with it." The organic evolution into a food-related personality and the task of "figuring out what exactly it was for me to become Molly" was done.
Cook the Book How to become an author
When working for the restaurant Bon Appetit an editor of Clarkson Potter, part of Penguin Random House publishing group called Molly and requested a meeting. "The dream is to get an email from a Penguin Random House email address," she remembers. "I knew this was cookbook-related. I went to the conference and one thing led to the next , and in a flash, I had an agreement for a book."
"It's an interesting 'tension' when you're putting together a menu plan for your first book," she adds "Because you're thinking simultaneously about what dishes are the best expression of who I am around the globe, but also those that others tend to cook. What are the dishes that will be accessible? The question isn't 'How much can Molly be flexible in her novel But it's about creating recipes that feel really true to me, but don't seem overwhelming or intimidating, and so just not suitable for everyday cooks. The meals I've created are ones that I'd make at home, however, not whenever I'm feeling super-extra."
Molly explains: "75% of what I do is to be a brain an amateur chef, and discard everything I know about cooking and approach it like it's only the only time in my life I've gone to the kitchen. Molly has learned to know what it feels like to be a newbie cook and "to be overwhelmed by the amount of food sitting on the counter in the front of your eyes". The woman says that "My task as a designer is to make order for them so that they can find it fun, and not a pain to the a**."
"My biggest fear is that my generation as well as the generations younger than me will have lived their whole time consuming the app that delivers food Caviar. And they'll wake up one day and have a six-month-old on their hip and a toddler who's running around with a chore to complete and don't know what to place in the kitchen or just pasta and tomato sauce and then be like"F*ck it. I'm ordering from Caviar again!'. The goal of my the world is to stop that situation from happening in the most efficient way."
I ask Molly whether there is a plan for a follow-up to the book. "I am supposed to start writing it as of three days in the past!" she smiles. She tells us that she was offered an additional book contract a couple of months ago through the same publisher. The book will be a sequel to the first that builds on the knowledge taught in the original book. Keep an eye out for.
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 when she is asked what she thinks about the salad. "I don't really have a one-sentence banger of the answer!" she says, "I simply think it's the greatest salad anywhere on earth. If I go out to the restaurant and I see caesar salad available it's almost certain that I'll not order it. I've been enthralled by it throughout the years. I've spoken about it a lot, and I make many of it. People know this now. It's just so amazing. it!"
Perhaps it's because Caesar salad matches Molly's mantra in that food must be fun. It's simple, accessible and full of flavourthis is what food should be according to Molly. This mindset stems from her own experience in professional cooking rather than from eating and enjoying food: "I've always found such happiness in the kitchen working in restaurants. There were highs as well as the excitement of getting on the line and banging out service and being like"F*ck, yeah we've done it'.
Molly is aware of the joy of cooking and the stress it could result in: "I hate that I cannot just flick the magic wand and create a fun experience for all. When I say cooking has to be fun that's because I'm striving to always be a good timebut not just the kitchen. If I were to ask my husband, "Does he want to go bowling tonight?' he'd say no and I would reply, 'You just never would you like to be bored!" My work here on earth is to make cooking enjoyable for others so that they will be able to enjoy the joy also.
In case Molly's love of food wasn't evident enough in her cooking, this passion is now a part of her home life. Like she has posted on Instagram, she has her own dog called Tuna. If asked if tuna was the most boring option to choose as a favorite food however, she says that it is not: "I do not find tuna to be boring! The water-packed canned tuna cans that we ate growing up are dry and boring, but high-quality canned tuna that is oil-packed, like that you find in Portugal, is such a pleasure. The flavors are different there, you know? !"
Molly along with her spouse Ben were vacationing in Portugal when they 'conceived' of Tuna. Talking in the pool on their honeymoon, instead of having a baby the couple decided to adopt an ox-like puppy. "We consumed a lot of canned fish, and it seems like we thought of tuna. We eat tuna about four times per each week!" she concludes, laughing.
It seems that, from Italy across the USA and back to Portugal Molly's love for simple, salty, happy food is more fervent than ever.