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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 owner of mollybaz.com is a dreamer with big dreams. "When I was young I was aspired to become an astronaut," she says "Then I wanted to be a United Nations translator. After this, I was thinking that I wanted to manage an art gallery in New York City." So, logically enough, she went on to earn a master's degree in art history from Skidmore College, the liberal arts college.
But it was during a time spent in Italy where she studied Renaissance art, that her love for food took over her other passions: "I was living with a little old lady named Graziella whom I called my homestay 'grandma'. The woman spoke only English and she didn't understand me when I said thank you. But she was an incredible cook."
It seems Graziella's main daily pastime was to go to the local marketto find some ingredients, and cook Molly dinner. "She simply loved it," Molly continues. "I have never had a meal in the way she did. I had never been taught about Italian food seasons and the reverence of ingredients. However, I thought to myself"Oh my God it's amazing! !'." Molly informs me that the way she cooks didn't come up with, and she's certain that it's true for the majority of folks out there. "My parents didn't look for high-quality ricotta and the best tomatoes - it just wasn't the thing."
Molly shares with me her "mind-bending "whoa'-moments" during her time in Italy that made her come home wanting to work with food. Even the way Graziella shopped for food was different to Molly's own experiences. Molly explains: "Instead of going to the grocery store on Sunday to get her groceries for the week, she would go to the market each day. The reason was that you didn't exactly know who is going to be at the market, and perhaps the peaches are better today than they did yesterday'. This was about respect."
Molly tells me that, with the most classic Italian style, Graziella's Tuscan meals were both simple yet delicious, and rustic. "Her tomato sauce is forever ingrained in my mind," she continues. "It's extremely good, and especially for winter, because it uses cherry tomatoes, which are according to me, the only tomato varieties that's worth the effort in the off-season."
It's clear from the manner in which Molly discusses food that, she believes that cooking for her is more than mixing flavors. It's the whole experience of exploring the ingredients on offer as well as analyzing what is appealing, and crafting a meal in your mind. "That's the way my brain worked. I just didn't think about eating that manner. Now, of course, it's all I think about," Molly smiles. That's perhaps the reason Molly describes herself as the recipe creator rather than being a cook.
Recipes, restaurants and rolls along
To continue her professional journey within the food industry after leaving Italy, Molly worked in establishments where she was taught how to cook. However, it wasn't her ultimate goal "I lost interest in establishments and realized that I did not really want to own the restaurant of my dreams. However, I was certain that I would like to cook and needed to find a career which was a good fit for me."
Molly was drawn into the field of food styling due to the fact that "the the next step in art history, including the art of composition and color was the art of making food appear delicious". As Molly's father was an artist, she thought it was the right method to interact with food based on her expertise, skills and how she was raised.
"It went well for a few days and I was happy with it." she says, "But ultimately, I had this feeling that I was just cooking and fashioning food items for others. You're like, 'Cool it looks great', and it's your thing to own the image, but the food isn't yours. It's somebody other's. I always wanted to cook, from my own brain and heart and soul."
So the next step was to start developing the recipes that magazines would use. She was already in the realm of food media by working in food styling for Bon Appetit magazine, and was then introduced to the position as food editor. This was a position she accepted. "I didn't know the term "food editor" before that!" she jokes, "But it's someone who writes and designs recipes and spends 75% of their working time working in the kitchen. It was a way for me to return to a restaurant setting while also being in contact with food the bulk all day." It was the right job. "I was thinking, 'This is the only thing I have to ever do again,'" she smiles. Molly became an associate food editor, and eventually was promoted to senior food editor and utilized the time to refine her recipe development skills throughout the subsequent four years.
The transition from food lover to food stylist to food editor was completed, but there was one final step in the journey. "It wasn't in my intention to be a personality and to be featured in videos," she continues. "The Bon Appetit YouTube channel was already in existence before I joined it and was gaining some followers, but it wasn't poppin' the way that it is today. A few weeks after I was hired, one of the producers wanted to know if I would like to make a video? and I said"Oh my god. I'm not sure. I'm no actress. I thought I was just a behind-the-scenes person'. But then, I clearly loved this."
Molly confesses that she was anxious the first time she was on camera during the kitchen test. "I was thinking, "Can they see me shaking?' Then the video came out and I was like"Wow, this was an absolute blast.' It wasn't my idea however the plan came from it was Bon Appetit's plans and they just rolled with the plan." It was an organic transition into a food-related personality and the challenge of "figuring out who will be that makes her Molly" was complete.
Cook the Book: Becoming an author
Working at Bon Appetit one editor who was from Clarkson Potter, part of Penguin Random House publishing group, reached out to Molly and asked for a meeting. "The goal is to receive an email from a Penguin Random House email address," she remembers. "I suspected this was related to cookbooks. I took the meeting and then one thing lead to the next and all of a sudden, I had a book deal."
"It's quite an exciting 'tension' when you're putting together a menu checklist for the first cookbook," she says "Because you're simultaneously thinking about what dishes are most revealing of my identity in the world but also the dishes that other people are most likely to make. What kinds of dishes can be easily accessed? The question isn't 'How much will Molly bend in her book?' but it's about how can I create things that are true to me. They do not seem intimidating or daunting which makes them uninspiring for the regular cooks. These are meals that I'd cook at home, however, not when I'm being super extra."
Molly explains: "75% of what I do is trying to become an untrained cook. I take everything I've learned about cooking and approach it as if it's the second time I've ever gone to the kitchen. Molly has developed herself to understand what it's like to be a novice cook, as well as "to feel overwhelmed by all these groceries lying on the counter the front of your eyes". The woman says that "My job as a recipe creator is to design a recipe for them in a way that makes the process enjoyable, not a pain in the ass."
"My greatest concern is that my generation and the generations younger than me will have spent their entire existence just grabbing [food delivery app] Caviar. They'll awake one day and have a six-month-old on their hip and a child playing around, and a task to finish and be unable to figure out what to place on the table -- not the tomato sauce pasta -- and just say"F*ck it. I'm going to order from Caviar and again!'. My aim in life is to eliminate the possibility of this happening as best as possible."
I ask Molly whether there is a plan for a sequel book. "I am supposed to start working on it three days in the past!" she smiles. She says that she got an additional book contract a few months ago from the same publisher, to serve as a follow-up to build upon the understanding taught in the initial book. Stay tuned.
Fun food, Caesar salad and Tuna the dog
The most well-known recipe in Cook This book comes from Molly's Caesar salad. A self-proclaimed 'Queen of Cae Sal', Molly smiles when asked how she is a fan of the dish. "I can't come up with one sentence of response to that!" she says, "I simply think it's one of the most delicious salads anywhere on earth. If I'm in the restaurant and I see caesar-based salad listed on the menu There's absolutely no chance I'm not ordering it. I've been enthralled by this dish over time; I've spoken about it often, and have made it a lot. 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 enjoyable. It's accessible, easy to prepare and full of flavor- that's what cooking should be, according to Molly. It's possible that this attitude is rooted in her experiences with culinary professionals, not from eating food and having fun with it: "I've always found such satisfaction in the kitchen while working in restaurants; there were highs as well as the excitement of getting in the kitchen and pounding off service while thinking"F*ck, yeah we've done it'.
Molly has seen the joy of cooking and the stress it could cause: "I hate that I don't have the ability to wave an magic wand to ensure that everyone has fun. If I tell you that cooking needs to be fun, it's because I'm just striving to always have a fun time -but not just the kitchen. If I asked my husband, 'Do you would like to bowl tonight?' he'd say no and I would say, "You're not going to wish to enjoy yourself!'" My job in this world is to help make cooking enjoyable for others so that they are able to experience that pleasure as well.
In case Molly's love of food was not evident enough from her kitchen, her love for food is now a part of her daily life. In her posts on Instagram her Instagram account, she owns a pet dog named Tuna. When asked if tuna is the most boring option to choose as food that you love, she disagrees wholeheartedly: "I do not find tuna to be boring! I think the water-packed cans that we used to use when we were kids were dry and boring. However, high-quality canned tuna that is oil-packed, like that you find in Portugal is an absolute pleasure. It just hits different over the place, don't you think? !"
Molly along with her spouse Ben were vacationing in Portugal while they were conceived of Tuna. Talking in the pool on their honeymoon, instead having a baby and deciding to have an ox-like puppy. "We had a huge amount of canned fish, and it seems like we thought of tuna. Today, we consume tuna at least four times in a each week!" she concludes, exclaiming with laughter.
From Italy across the USA returning to Portugal, Molly's passion for simple, salty, happy food is stronger than ever.