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What is it that Molly Baz wishes she could use her magic wand to create magical effects, and create a cooking event that's fun for all

Molly Baz, recipe developer and the owner of mollybaz.com Molly Baz has big plans for her website. "When I was young, I was always dreaming of becoming an astronaut." she declares "Then I wanted to be an United Nations translator. In the following years, I was thinking I was going to run the museum of art in New York City." That's why, naturally, she earned master's degrees in art history from Skidmore College, the liberal arts college.

It was her year abroad in Italy, studying renaissance art, that her love for food began to overshadow her other interests: "I was living with an elderly lady named Graziella and I was the homestay's 'grandma'. She spoke no English and couldn't be understood when I said thank you , but she was an amazing cook."

It was the most popular pastime to go to the market, purchase ingredients and cook Molly dinner. "She was a huge fan of the meals," Molly continues. "I have never eaten like she did. I had never been taught about Italian seasonal food and respect for the ingredients. It was like"oh God, it's incredible! !'." Molly states that her way of cooking wasn't something she grew up with, and she's certain that this holds true for the most people. "My parents weren't seeking out high-end ricotta, or even the best tomatoes. That wasn't their thing."

Molly shares with me the "mind-bending "whoa'-moments" of hers that she encountered during her time in Italy which led her to come home to a desire to be working in the field of food. The way that Graziella was able to shop for food was not the same as Molly's experience. Molly describes: "Instead of going to the market on Sundays during the week, Graziella would be an avid market-shopper each and every day. It was due to the fact that 'you don't know what vendors are going to be in the market, and also the peaches may be more appealing in the present than they did yesterday'. This was about respect."

Molly tells me that, in the quintesential Italian fashion, food of Graziella's Tuscan cuisine was both easy yet delicious, rustic, and tasty. "Her tomato sauce is ingrained in my mind," she continues. "It's very good, particularly during winter since it uses cherry tomatoesthat are, for me the only tomato varieties which can be considered worthy of your time outside of season."

The way the way Molly talks about food that for her, cooking is about more than just making flavours. It's the whole experience of investigating the various ingredients available and evaluating what's appealing as well as creating a dish inside your head. "That's completely not how my brain was working. I wasn't contemplating eating that way. But, now, it's all I think about," she smiles. This could be why Molly describes herself as a recipe developer rather than a chef.

Restaurants, recipes and rolling all

In order to continue her career within the food industry when she moved out of Italy, Molly worked in establishments in which she learned to cook. It wasn't the final goal "I lost interest in places and decided that I didn't want to actually open my own restaurant. It was a fact that I'd like to be a chef and wanted to identify a profession that seemed to be the right match for me."

Molly began her journey into food styling as "the subsequent logical development from art history, including colors and compositions and making food look attractive". Since her father is photographer, she thought this was the ideal way to approach food, based on her skills knowledge, experience and the manner in which she was raised.

"It did work for a short period of time and I really enjoyed it." she says "But ultimately, I had this feeling that I was just fashioning food for others. This feeling of "Cool and it's beautiful", and you're in some way accountable for the image but the food isn't your food. It's somebody else's. I was hoping to cook by using my own thoughts as well as my heart and soul."

The next thing to do was start preparing the recipes magazines could use. The chef had already been part of the realm of food-related media, through her food styling for Bon Appetit magazine. She was then introduced to the position of food editor. This was an opportunity she accepted. "I did not know what a food editor was prior to that!" she quips "But it's a person who writes and develops recipes, and is able to spend 75percent of the day making food. This gave me the opportunity to me to return to the an environment of dining out while also working with food the bulk of the day." This was the best job. "I realized that this is the only thing that I will ever have to complete in my entire life,"" she smiles. Molly was elevated to the position of the position of senior associate food editor, then was elevated to senior food editor . The time was used to develop her recipe-development skills over the following four years.

The shift from food enthusiast to food stylist to food editor was completed However, there was one more phase to complete. "It was never in my intention to be an actor or to appear on video," she continues. "The Bon Appetit YouTube channel started prior to my joining it, and it was growing in popularity however it wasn't popular in the way it is the case nowadays. After a few weeks, I took on the role and was appointed, and one of the producers said, "Do you want to do a video?' Then I thought"Holy sh*t!. I'm not sure. I'm no actress. I thought I was a behind the scenes person'. When I realized it, I loved this."

Molly admits she was a bit nervous the first time she appeared in the kitchen test. "I thought, "Can I feel the kitchen shaking?' When the video started to play, I looked out, and I thought"Wow! This was so enjoyable.' The idea wasn't mine, however it came from an idea in Bon Appetit's plans and the team just took it on." The natural evolution to food personality, and the challenge of "figuring out who is going to become Molly" was done.

The Cooking of the Book How to become an author

While working at the restaurant Bon Appetit an editor from Clarkson Potter, part of Penguin Random House publishing group called Molly and asked her to attend an interview. "The goal is to receive an email sent from an email address that is associated with that Penguin Random House email address," she remembers. "I suspected this was related to cookbooks. I attended the event and then one thing lead to the next and in a flash I was offered an agreement to publish a book."

"It's fascinating to be in the process of trying to come to a list of recipes for a debut cookbook." she says "Because you're simultaneously thinking about what dishes are most authentic to my personality and what I think of the world, and also what other cooks will most likely make. What dishes are going to be approachable? This isn't about "How difficult will it be to Molly make a bend in her cookbook How difficult is it to bend in her book?' but it's about creating recipes that appeal to my taste. But, they're not overwhelming or intimidating or boring for the regular cooks. My recipes are the ones I would cook at home, but only when I'm being super extra."

Molly explains: "75% of what I do is to become a smart beginner cook. I want to get rid of all the knowledge I've acquired about cooking and approach it as if it's the sole occasion in my entire life when I've been in the kitchen. Molly has made it her mission to understand what it's as an amateur cook, as well as "to become overwhelmed by the amount of food that are on the counter right in the front of your eyeballs". She confirms "My job as a recipe developer is to organize these recipes using a technique that is enjoyable, and doesn't cause pain in the stomach."

"My most significant worry is that the generation I grew up with as well as those younger than mine have spent their entire life just getting [food delivery app] Caviar. They'll wake up the next day with a six-month-old on their hip and a toddler running around with a chore to complete and will not be able to decide what to place at the table -- not even the tomato sauce pasta -- and be like"F*ck it. I'm going to get my order from Caviar as well!'. My goal in life is to prevent any possibility of it happening as best as possible."

I asked Molly whether she's got plans for a follow-up book. "I plan to begin creating it as early as three days away!" She smiles. She reveals that she received another book contract a couple of months ago with this same company. The book is designed to function as a sequel that builds upon the knowledge taught in the first book. Keep an eye out for any new updates.

Food that is fun, Caesar salad and Tuna the dog

One of the recipes that is most well-known found inside Cook this Book includes Molly's Caesar salad. The self-professed 'Queen Of Cae Sal', Molly smiles whenever asked why she is a fan of the dish. "I can't think of one sentence to give the answer!" she says "I believe that it is one of the finest salads on the planet. If I'm in the eatery and see caesar salad listed on the menu, There's absolutely no chance that I won't choose it. I've fallen in love with it over the years; I've had a number of discussions about it, and I make many of it. People are aware of that. It's amazing. it!"

It could be that Caesar salad aligns with Molly's philosophies in that food should be fun. It's accessible, easy to prepare and full of flavorit's how food should be cooked according to Molly. This mindset comes from her experiences of working alongside culinary experts, and rather than from eating food, and enjoying it: "I've always found such delight in the kitchen working in restaurants; there were highs as well as that rush of entering the kitchen, pounding away at the food, then saying"F*ck it, we've done it'.

Molly has experienced the pleasure of cooking and the stress that it can cause "I am so frustrated that I cannot use a magic wand to make it fun for everyone. If I'm saying that cooking is fun for me, this is because I'm determined to always enjoy myself and not only with cooking food. If I were to ask my husband, "Do you want to play bowling tonight?' I'd get him to say no. I'd say, 'You do not want to have fun!" My job in this world is to make cooking fun for other people so they will be able to take pleasure in the enjoyment too.

In case Molly's love of food wasn't evident enough in her kitchen, her love of food is now a element of her daily life. In her photos on Instagram she is accompanied by an animal companion named Tuna. If you inquire what she thinks about tuna, it is that boring choice as a food of her choice, she replies: "I do not find tuna to be dull! The water-packed canned cans that we used to use as kids are old-fashioned boring. However, high-quality canned tuna with oil in it similar to the kind you'll discover in Portugal is an absolute pleasure. There are distinct flavors and you'll notice it. !"

Molly as well as her partner Ben was in Portugal at the time the "conceived" about Tuna. Talking in the pool on their honeymoon, instead of being expecting a child, they decided to get an ox-like puppy. "We have eaten lots of canned fish, and that we thought about tuna. We eat tuna probably four times a each week!" she concludes, laughing.

There is a sense that, from Italy through the USA and back to Portugal Molly's passion for delicious, healthy, simple and tasty food is now more fervent more than ever before.

More details about Molly and the importance of "flipping customers"

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