Claire Saffitz


Claire Saffitz is an American pastry chef, food writer and YouTube personality. She is a contributing editor at Bon Appétit magazine. Saffitz stars in several series on the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, most notably Gourmet Makes, in which she creates gourmet versions of popular snack foods by reverse engineering them.

Early life and education

Saffitz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family. She attended Clayton High School, graduating in 2005. She then graduated from Harvard University in 2009 with a BA in U.S. history and literature, after which she studied French cuisine and pastry at École Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris, France. After working at Spring Restaurant for a four-month externship, 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

Saffitz joined Bon Appétit in 2013, and worked there as a senior food editor until August 2018. She returned in November 2018 as a freelance recipe developer and video host.
In July 2017, Gourmet Makes debuted, in which Saffitz attempts to recreate or elevate popular snack foods such as Doritos, Twinkies, and Gushers. Gourmet Makes consistently trends on YouTube and has 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.
Saffitz has written her debut cookbook, Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence, which is set to be published by Penguin Random House in October 2020.

Personal life

Saffitz lives with her fiancé, fellow chef Harris Mayer-Selinger, in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City. She has two cats, Maya and Felix.