Molly Baz

Molly Baz (née Lundquist-Baz; born May 9, 1988) is an American cook, recipe developer, and food writer. She was a senior food editor at Bon Appétit magazine and appeared frequently in videos for the magazine's YouTube channel before leaving in 2020. Baz has published two cookbooks, Cook This Book and More Is More (2023), both of which are New York Times Best Sellers.

Early life and education Baz was born on May 9, 1988. She is from Rhinebeck, New York. She then studied art history at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, graduating in 2010. She discovered her love of cooking while studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

Career Early career (2008–2014) Wanting to work as a chef without attending culinary school, Baz worked as a line cook in restaurants in Boston and New York City from 2008 to 2014, including at the now-closed Picholine in Lincoln Square. She took a break between jobs in 2011 to go on a road trip in the southern United States with her father, who is a photographer, and visit barbecue establishments and learn from barbecue pitmasters. While in New York in 2013, she co-founded a catering company named Rustic Supper. One video series, Making Perfect, had Baz and other staff of the Bon Appétit test kitchen cook "perfect" versions of meals such as pizza or a Thanksgiving dinner. According to food website Eater, fans on YouTube praised Baz for her "casual relatability, her thoroughly explained recipes, and her attention to detail."

In June 2020, Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned after a photo of him in brownface garnered criticism. The resignation also came as employees, including assistant food editor Sohla El-Waylly, publicly accused the magazine and its parent company Condé Nast of discriminating against employees of color. After El-Waylly, Krishna, and Rick Martinez, all people of color, announced their departure from the magazine's video content in August, Baz wrote on Instagram that she would no longer appear in videos for the magazine. She departed the publication in October. According to Business Insider, after one month of business, Recipe Club had gained "several thousand" subscribers.

Baz published a cookbook, titled Cook This Book, on April 20, 2021, through the Clarkson Potter imprint. The book was critically and commercially successful, becoming a New York Times Best Seller. Food52 and Taste of Home named the book as one of the best cookbooks of 2021. A review by Publishers Weekly described the book as "an exciting crash course in cooking fundamentals." Describing the book as "downright rebellious" at times, Anne Valdespino of The Mercury News wrote that the book's title "smacks" of activist Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book and highlighted its "unconventional format", "slangy lingo", and "well placed cuss words."

In 2022, it was announced that Baz would appear as a guest judge on the Discovery+ streaming series The Julia Child Challenge, created by the Food Network. Baz published a second cookbook, More Is More, with Clarkson Potter in October 2023. Library Journal reviewer Sarah Tansley recommended the book, writing that it offers "plenty of instruction for beginners and spunky flair and big flavor for all kitchens", and Wired magazine's Joe Ray later named it as one of nineteen best cookbooks for the year. In 2024, a Times Square billboard advertisement for lactation cookies, which featured Baz with a pregnant stomach and breasts that were partially covered with the cookies, was removed by the billboard's owner after it determined it had violated its "guidelines on acceptable content." This was followed later that year by an advertising deal with the cereal brand Special K and the launch of a flavored mayonnaise brand called "Ayoh".

Personal life Baz and her husband Ben Willett moved from New York City to Altadena, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, California, in 2020. Their son was born in 2024.