Claire Saffitz

Claire Saffitz (born 1986) is an American food writer, chef, and YouTube personality. Until mid-2020, she was a contributing editor at ''Bon Appétit'' magazine and starred in several series on the ''Bon Appétit'' YouTube channel, including ''Gourmet Makes'', in which she created gourmet versions of popular snack foods by reverse engineering them. Since leaving the company, she has published two cookbooks, ''Dessert Person'' and ''What's for Dessert?'', which both became ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. She has continued work as a video host on her own YouTube channel and as a freelance recipe developer, including for ''New York Times'' Cooking.

Early life and education

Saffitz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family. In the early 1900s, her great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from what was then Russia but is now Ukraine; before emigrating, he worked as a baker.

She attended Captain Elementary and graduated from Clayton High School in 2005. She went on to attend Harvard University, graduating in 2009 with an AB in U.S. history and literature, then studied French cuisine and pastry at École Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris, France. After a four-month externship at Spring Restaurant, Saffitz moved to Montreal, Québec, where she received a master's degree in history at McGill University in 2013, with a focus on French culinary history in the early modern era.

Career

At ''Bon Appétit'' (2013–2020)

Saffitz joined ''Bon Appétit'' in 2013, starting as a recipe tester and working her way up to being a senior food editor, where she remained until August 2018, when she left her full-time position at the magazine. She returned in November 2018 as a freelance recipe developer and video host.

In July 2017, ''Gourmet Makes'' debuted, in which Saffitz attempted to recreate or elevate popular snack foods such as Doritos, Twinkies, and Gushers. ''Gourmet Makes'' consistently trended on YouTube and developed a cult following on social media. Saffitz's work has been described as taking "junk food staples and...elevating them from their humble processed beginnings into wonders of gastronomy."

In February 2019, ''Bon Appétit'' launched two new series that featured Saffitz: ''Bon Appétit’s Baking School'' and ''Making Perfect''.

On January 22, 2020, Saffitz appeared on a cooking segment on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''.

Departure and continued career (2020–present)

On June 8, 2020, Adam Rapoport resigned as editor-in-chief of ''Bon Appétit'' after a photo of him in brownface resurfaced online and sparked widespread criticism. The company as a whole also received criticism after food editor Sohla El-Waylly accused the magazine and Condé Nast Entertainment, which produces the videos on the ''Bon Appétit'' YouTube channel, of discriminating against employees of color, claiming they were subject to lesser pay than their non-minority counterparts. Amidst these circumstances, Saffitz announced she had not been under contract with the company since May 2020 and that she would be reevaluating her relationship with ''Bon Appétit''. In October 2020, she formally announced she would not be renewing her contract.

Saffitz's debut cookbook, ''Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence'', was published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on October 20, 2020. The book became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller, debuting at No. 2 on the "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous" list for the week of November 8, 2020. In June 2021, the ''Dessert Person'' cookbook was nominated by the International Association of Culinary Professionals as a finalist in the annual IACP Cookbook Awards in the "Baking Sweet & Savory, Confections & Desserts" category and a nominee for the IACP Julia Child First Book Award, winning the latter in October 2021.

In December 2020, Saffitz launched her own YouTube channel, beginning with a focus on demonstrating recipes from her book, ''Dessert Person''. The channel is produced by Vincent Cross, formerly of ''Bon Appétit'', who also worked on the Binging with Babish YouTube channel.

In January 2021, Saffitz started contributing to NYT Cooking, including being featured on their YouTube channel. In May 2021, Saffitz made another appearance on ''The Tonight Show''.

In April 2022, social media influencer Emma Chamberlain appeared on Saffitz's channel.

Claire's second cookbook, titled ''What's for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People'' was released on November 8, 2022. It also became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller.

Personal life

Saffitz lives with her husband, fellow chef Harris Mayer-Selinger, in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City. The couple also own a cabin in upstate New York, which they purchased in late 2020.

References

External links

Official website


Official YouTube Channel

Claire Saffitz
at ''Bon Appétit''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saffitz, Claire
1986 births
American YouTubers
Chefs from New York City
The Harvard Crimson people
Living people
McGill University alumni
Pastry chefs
Writers from St. Louis
American women chefs
American chefs
Jewish American chefs
American Ashkenazi Jews
Bon Appétit people
Chefs from Missouri
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent