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The reason Molly Baz wishes she could make magic with her wand, and make cooking fun for everyone
Molly Baz, recipe developer and proprietor of mollybaz.com she has big goals. "When I was young I was aspired to become an astronaut," she states "Then I was interested in becoming a United Nations translator. After this, I was thinking that I would like to operate an art gallery in New York City." Therefore, it was logical that she was able to pursue a study in art history at Skidmore College, the liberal arts institution.
It was in a year abroad in Italy and studying Renaissance art that her passion for food took over her other hobbies: "I was living with an elderly lady named Graziella and she was my"grandma" at my homestay. She spoke no English - she couldn't even comprehend me when I asked thank you. But she was an incredible cook."
The main hobby was to head to the market in town, buy certain ingredients, then prepare Molly dinner. "She just lived for the food," Molly continues. "I hadn't eaten in the way she did. I hadn't been exposed to food seasonality and Italy's reverence for ingredients. But I was like"oh, my god I'm in love with this! !'." Molly says that this kind of cooking didn't come up with, and she's certain that it's true to the vast majority of people who live in the world. "My parents weren't seeking out top-quality ricotta or the finest tomatoes. It wasn't their thing."
Molly tells me about "mind-bending "whoa'-moments" during her time in Italy that made her come home wanting to work with food. Even the way Graziella shopped at the market for groceries was very different from Molly's experience. Molly describes: "Instead of going to the supermarket on Sundays during the week, Graziella went to the market each day. It was due to the fact that 'you don't know which vendors are likely to be at the market, and the peaches might look better than they did yesterday'. It was about respect."
Molly tells me that, in quintessential Italian style, Graziella's Tuscan meals were both simple, rustic and delicious. "Her tomato sauce will remain remembered in my head," she continues. "It's very good, particularly in winter because it is made with cherry tomatoes which, in my opinion, the only fresh tomatoes that's worth the effort in the off-season."
It's clear by how Molly discusses food that, to her, cooking is about more than just mixing flavors. It's about the entire process of looking at the various ingredients available and evaluating what's appealing as well as creating a dish with your own mind. "That's just not how my mind worked. I was not thinking about eating this manner. It's true that now it's all I think about." Molly smiles. Perhaps this is the reason Molly refers to herself as an ingredient developer, not being a cook.
Food, recipes, and rolling around
To further her journey in the world of food after leaving Italy, Molly worked in restaurant kitchens, where she learned cook. But it wasn't the end desired goal "I lost interest in places and decided that I didn't wish to run my own restaurant. But I knew I wanted to cook and needed to determine the path which was a good fit for me."
Molly entered the world of food styling because "the following logical progression from art history, which included colors and composition, was the art of making food appear delicious". Since her father is an artist, she thought that this was the best way to engage with food , based on her skills, expertise, and the way she was raised.
"It worked for a few days and I enjoyed it," she says, "But ultimately, I was feeling like I was cooking and decorating food for other people. You're like, 'Cool that looks delicious' and you're in some way responsible for the photograph, but it's not your food. It's someone other's. I was hoping to cook, from my own brain and heart."
So the next step was to get into making the recipes that magazines would use. She was already in the food industry through food styling at Bon Appetit magazine and was exposed to the position as food editor. This was a position she was able to take on. "I was a bit unsure of the term "food editor" prior to that!" she jokes, "But it's a person who writes and creates recipes and spends 75% of their working time cooking. It was a way for me to be back in the restaurant environment while also being in contact with food for the majority of the day." The role clicked. "I thought, 'This is the only thing I ever need to do ever again in my life,'" she smiles. Molly was promoted to senior associate food editor and eventually was promoted to senior food editor . She made use of the time to sharpen her recipe development skills throughout the subsequent four years.
The transition from food lover to food stylist and food editor was done however there was one more step in the journey. "It was never in my plans to become an actor or to appear featured in videos," she continues. "The Bon Appetit YouTube channel was already in existence at the time I joined, and it was already gaining some traction but it wasn't popular in the way we know it now. After a few weeks, I was hired, one of the producers said, "Do you want to do a video?' Then I thought"Holy sh*t!. I don't know. I'm not an actress. I believed I was a Behind the Scenes Person'. And then I obviously f*cking was in love with this."
Molly admits to being nervous during the first time she was present on the test kitchen. "I was thinking, "Can I see them shaking?' Then the video came out and I was like"Wow! This is amazing. The video wasn't part of my plan but it came from Bon Appetit's strategy and I simply embraced the plan." The organic evolution to foodie personality the task of "figuring out exactly what it will be to be Molly" was done.
Cook this Book The process of becoming an author
While working at Bon Appetit, an editor from Clarkson Potter, part of Penguin Random House publishing group called Molly and requested meetings. "The goal is to receive an email from an Penguin Random House email address," she remembers. "I realized this was a cookbook related. I attended the event and then one thing lead to another and suddenly I was offered an agreement for a book."
"It's an interesting 'tension' to come up with a recipe checklist for the first book," she says "Because it's simultaneously thinking about dishes that represent the best expression of who I am in the world but also the dishes that other people tend to cook. What dishes will be accessible? It's not about 'How hard is it to Molly bend within her work?' but it's about what I can do to create dishes that are true to me. Yet, they do not seem intimidating or daunting which makes them not suitable for everyday cooks. These are meals that I'd make at home, but not whenever I'm feeling super-extra."
Molly says: "75% of what I do is to become an amateur chef, and eliminate everything I've ever learned about cooking and approach it like it's only the second time I've ever been in the kitchen. Molly has learned to know what it feels like to be a novice cook as well as "to feel overwhelmed by all these groceries that are on the counter front of you". She confirms "My role as a recipe designer is to make order for them so that they can find the process enjoyable, isn't a pain to the a**."
"My most dreadful worry is that the people in my generation and the ones that are younger than me are going to have spent their whole life just getting the app that delivers food Caviar. And they'll wake up one day and have the six-month-old baby on their lap with a toddler playing around, and a task to complete and don't know what to place on the table -- not just pasta and tomato sauce -- and just think, 'F*ck it. I'm going to order from Caviar once more!. My goal in the world is to stop the possibility of this happening in the most efficient way."
I inquire Molly whether there is a plan for a sequel to the novel. "I am supposed to start making it up as early as three days from now!" she smiles. She says that she got a second book deal a couple of months ago through the same publisher. It is intended to act as a sequel and build on the foundational understanding taught in the initial book. Keep an eye out for.
Food that is fun, Caesar salad and Tuna the dog
Perhaps the most famous recipe from Cook this book includes Molly's Caesar salad. The self-professed 'Queen Of Cae Sal' Molly smiles when she is asked why she loves the dish. "I don't really have one sentence of the answer!" she says, "I believe it's one of the most delicious salads on the planet. If I'm in an eatery and see caesar salad on the menu it's almost certain that I'll not order it. I've become infatuated with it throughout the years. I've talked about it a lot, and I make the caesar salad often. The world is aware of that. I just frickin' love it!"
Maybe it's just that Caesar salad is in line with Molly's philosophy in the sense that food should be fun. It's accessible, easy to prepare and full of flavorit's how cooking ought to be, according to Molly. This mindset comes from her experience with culinary professionals, not from eating food and having fun with it: "I've always found such happiness in the kitchen working at restaurants. There were highs as well as the adrenaline of being in the kitchen and pounding off service while thinking"F*ck, yeah that's what we did'.
Molly is aware of the joy in cooking, as well as the fear it may create: "I hate that I cannot just flick an magic wand to make it fun for everyone. If I tell you that cooking needs to be enjoyable that's because I'm striving to always enjoy myself -- not just with making food. If I had asked my husband, "Does he wish to take a bowling trip tonight?' he would say no and I would respond, "You don't want to have fun!'" My mission in this world is to make cooking enjoyable for people around the world so they will be able to enjoy the joy as well.
As if Molly's love for food wasn't evident enough in her kitchen, her love for food is now a part of her daily life. Like she has posted on Instagram her Instagram account, she owns her own dog called Tuna. If you ask her if tuna is a boring choice to have as food that you love however, she says that it is not: "I do not find tuna boring at all! The water-packed canned tuna cans that we used to use growing up are dry and boring. However, high-quality oil-packed tuna, such as what you see in Portugal is a pleasure. The flavor is different the place, don't you think? !"
Molly and her husband Ben were in Portugal while they were conceived of Tuna. In the swimming pool during their honeymoon, rather than deciding to have a baby and deciding to have a wiener puppy. "We consumed a lot of fish that was tinned and I believe we were thinking about tuna. We eat tuna probably four times a every week!" she concludes, laughing.
It seems that, from Italy across the USA and then back to Portugal Molly's love for easy, delicious, tasty food is stronger than ever.