{{Short description|American chef and food writer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox writer | name = Andy Baraghani | birth_name = Andisheh Baraghani | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|November|27}} | birth_place = | nationality = American | awards = James Beard Award (2023) | website = {{URL|andybaraghani.com/}} | occupation = Chef, food writer | spouse = {{marriage|Keith Pollock|2024}} | notable_works = ''The Cook You Want to Be'' }} '''Andisheh "Andy" Baraghani''' ({{langx|fa|اندیشه برغانی}}, born November 27, 1989) is an American chef and food writer.
Baraghani's first job as a teenager was at the restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. He moved across the United States to study at New York University and work in New York City restaurants before transitioning into a career in media in 2013. Following a brief stint as a food editor at ''Tasting Table'', he joined ''Bon Appétit'' in 2015 as a senior food editor and soon became a frequent presenter on the publication's YouTube channel.
Baraghani left ''Bon Appétit'' in 2021 to work on a cookbook, ''The Cook You Want to Be'' (2022), which contains recipes and essays that cover his personal life and career. The book won a James Beard Award.
== Early life == Baraghani<ref name="hid"/> was born on November 27, 1989 and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.<ref name="Instagram birthday post" /><ref name="NYT 2022" /> Baraghani is Iranian American and he grew up speaking Persian.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Betancourt |first1=Bianca |title=Andy Baraghani Is a Food World Favorite for a Reason |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/a42084595/andy-baraghani-the-cook-you-want-to-be-interview/ |access-date=25 July 2023 |work=Harper's Bazaar |date=28 November 2022}}</ref> His parents had immigrated from Iran to Berkeley in 1977, a year before the Iranian Revolution. When he was young, he often experimented with various foods and played with a Fisher-Price kitchen, his favorite toy as a child.<ref name="SharpApril2022">{{cite news |last1=Ladly |first1=Meghan Davidson |title=Chef Andy Baraghani Is the Most Curious Cook |url=https://sharpmagazine.com/2022/04/29/chef-andy-baraghani-interview/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |work=Sharp Magazine |date=April 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="gloss interview">{{cite web |title=Andy Baraghani, Senior Food Editor, Bon Appétit |url=https://intothegloss.com/2019/10/andy-baraghani-beauty-routine/ |website=Into The Gloss |access-date=August 23, 2022 |date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> As a teenager, he worked his first job at the Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse,<ref name="SalonJune2022">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Mary Elizabeth |title=How chef Andy Baraghani makes his delicious recipes with a few tools and no dishwasher |url=https://www.salon.com/2022/06/08/how-chef-andy-baraghani-makes-his-delicious-recipes-with-a-few-tools-and-no-dishwasher/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |work=Salon |date=June 8, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Out 2020">{{cite news |last1=Dommu |first1=Rose |title=How Andy Baraghani Became the Internet Boyfriend of Our Dreams |url=https://www.out.com/print/2020/2/17/how-andy-baraghani-became-internet-boyfriend-our-dreams |access-date=August 24, 2022 |work=Out |date=February 17, 2020}}</ref><ref name="FT 2022" /> where he started as an intern and became a line cook in its kitchen.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Breijo |first1=Stephanie |title=Chez Panisse alums changed the way we eat, cook and conceptualize food and farming |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2021-08-19/chez-panisse-alumni |access-date=August 23, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> In his time at the restaurant working under Alice Waters, whom he regards as his "culinary idol",<ref name="FT 2022">{{cite news |last1=Patalay |first1=Ajesh |title=Cooking with 'the internet boyfriend of our dreams' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/75d121c4-9da3-493a-832f-ab50e1825bce |access-date=September 1, 2022 |work=Financial Times |date=April 25, 2022}}</ref> he learned cooking technique and how to be agile and "think methodically."<ref name="Advocate 2022">{{cite news |last1=Anderson-Minshall |first1=Jacob |author-link=Jacob Anderson-Minshall |title=How Out Chef Andy Baraghani Seeks to Pique Your Culinary Curiosity |url=https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2022/4/22/how-out-chef-andy-baraghani-seeks-pique-your-culinary-curiosity |access-date=September 3, 2022 |work=The Advocate |date=April 22, 2022}}</ref> One particular experience Baraghani recalls is when he cried after he could not understand what Waters asked him in French.<ref name="FT 2022" /> By the time he graduated from high school, he had worked in three restaurants including Chez Panisse.<ref name="Advocate 2022" />
== Career == === Early food writer positions === While studying food studies and cultural anthropology at New York University, Baraghani worked as an editor for the food publication ''Saveur''. After he left his job and graduated from university, he worked in the New York City restaurants Frej, Corton, and Estela.<ref name="gloss interview" /><ref name="FT 2022" /> He transitioned from a career in the restaurant business into one in the media industry in 2013<ref name="Advocate 2022" /> and soon after became a food editor for the online publication ''Tasting Table''.<ref name="gloss interview" /><ref name="FT 2022" />
=== Time at ''Bon Appétit'' (2015–2021) === In 2015, he joined ''Bon Appétit'' as senior food editor.<ref name="FT 2022" /> He was additionally co-editor of ''Healthyish'', a publication by ''Bon Appétit'' which focuses on clean eating.<ref name="Out 2020" /> When ''Bon Appétit'' began to increase its focus on video content in 2016, he started presenting on the publication's YouTube channel with Molly Baz, Sohla El-Waylly, Priya Krishna, Brad Leone, and Claire Saffitz.<ref name="FT 2022" /> Baraghani was one of seventeen chefs who operated a Manhattan pop-up restaurant by Google open for four days in April 2016.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Morrell |first1=Tarajia |title=Google's NYC Pop-Up Restaurant Shows How We're All Connected By Food |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-04-21/googles-nyc-pop-up-restaurant-shows-how-were-all-connected-by-food |access-date=August 23, 2022 |magazine=Condé Nast Traveler |date=April 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tishgart |first1=Sierra |title=Google Translate Recruited Ace Chefs to Run a Free Pop-up Restaurant |url=https://www.grubstreet.com/2016/04/google-translate-pop-up-restaurant.html |access-date=August 23, 2022 |work=Grub Street |date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> With musicians Cupcakke and Ella Mai, Baraghani and Baz held cooking demonstrations at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco in 2019.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hughes |first1=Hilary |title=Bon Appetit's Molly Baz & Andy Baraghani Dish on Cooking With CupcakKe & Ella Mai at Outside Lands |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bon-appetit-molly-baz-andy-baraghani-cook-with-cupcakke-ella-mai-8527217/ |access-date=August 23, 2022 |magazine=Billboard |date=August 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mendoza |first1=Mariecar |title=CupcakKe brings shock and awe to Outside Lands |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/cupcakke-brings-shock-and-awe-to-outside-lands |access-date=August 23, 2022 |work=Datebook {{!}} San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide |date=August 11, 2019}}</ref> In early 2020, the LGBTQ magazine ''Out'' published a profile of Baraghani that dubbed him "the internet boyfriend of our dreams".<ref name="FT 2022" />
In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests against police brutality and racism, ''Bon Appétit'' editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned after a 2004 photo of him in brownface previously published on Instagram garnered criticism online. Staff members, among other critics on social media, accused the publication and its parent company Condé Nast of discrimination against their employees of color and called for better compensation and treatment.<ref name="NYT Rapoport">{{cite news |last1=Severson |first1=Kim |author-link=Kim Severson |title=Bon Appétit Editor Adam Rapoport Resigns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/dining/bon-appetit-adam-rapoport.html |accessdate=September 2, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=June 8, 2020}}</ref> Baraghani himself was accused of microaggressions toward a female Korean American coworker. A few days later, he posted a statement to Instagram in which he criticized the publication's workplace culture and apologized for the ways he had "undermined" and "hurt" BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) coworkers, particularly a "former coworker".<ref name="FT 2022" /><ref name="Insider 2020 BA Timeline">{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Margot |last2=Haasch |first2=Palmer |last3=Greenspan |first3=Rachel E. |title=A new podcast is exploring the reckoning that happened at Bon Appétit. Here's how the publication ended up in hot water. |url=https://www.insider.com/bon-apptit-timeline-allegations-drama-culture-race-andy-alex-sohla-2020-6 |access-date=September 20, 2022 |work=Insider}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Margot |title=Bon Appétit star Andy Baraghani says he 'undermined' and 'hurt' BIPOC colleagues in an Instagram apology |url=https://www.insider.com/bon-apptit-andy-baraghani-apologizes-in-instagram-post-2020-6 |access-date=September 3, 2022 |work=Insider |date=June 15, 2020}}</ref> He continued working at the publication for another year, unlike some coworkers who resigned at the time in protest. Speaking with the ''Financial Times'' in 2022, he explained that leaving ''Bon Appétit'' was "a privilege I didn't feel I had" because of his middle-class background and the large amount of student debt he had accrued. He departed the publication in August 2021 to work on a cookbook.<ref name="FT 2022" />
=== After ''Bon Appétit'' (2021–present) === Baraghani's cookbook, ''The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress'', was published in 2022 by Lorena Jones Books.<ref name="Advocate 2022" /><ref name="The Cook You Want to Be reviews" /> The cookbook contains recipes and essays on his childhood, international travels, and career.<ref name="Long Island Advance">{{cite news |last1=Sgroi |first1=Nicole |title=Brookhaven food connoisseur dishes new recipes: A new cookbook debuts |url=https://www.longislandadvance.net/stories/brookhaven-food-connoisseur-dishes-new-recipes,90278 |access-date=September 19, 2022 |work=The Long Island Advance |date=May 4, 2022}}</ref> According to ''The Mercury News'', it "features a wide range of veg-forward, flavor-packed and often unexpected dishes" as well as dishes he ate in his childhood such as ''aush reshteh'', a stew, and ''chelo'' (pilaf) with ''tahdig'' (scorched rice).<ref name="The Cook You Want to Be reviews" /> The book won him a James Beard Award in the general cookbook category in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Canavan |first1=Hillary Dixler |title=Here Are the 2023 James Beard Foundation Media Award Winners |url=https://www.eater.com/23747173/james-beard-foundation-awards-2023-media-winners-cookbooks-journalism |access-date=July 25, 2023 |work=Eater |date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>
In a 2023 interview, Baraghani stated he was planning to write his second book and start a project to produce city guides for worldwide destinations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beloved Food Writer Andy Baraghani Wants the QR Code Menu to Go Away |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2023/05/31/andy-baraghani-chef-cookbook-james-beard |access-date=July 25, 2023 |work=Cultured Magazine |date=May 31, 2023}}</ref>
== Personal life == Baraghani is gay.<ref name="FT 2022" /> He lives with his husband Keith Pollock,<ref name="NotYourAverage">{{cite news |last1=Leatherwood |first1=Olive |title=Andy Baraghani Hosted Not-Your-Average-Book-Party for His Cookbook, "The Cook You Want to Be" |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/andy-baraghani-book-party-2022 |access-date=September 23, 2022 |work=Vogue |date=June 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923180919/https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/andy-baraghani-book-party-2022 |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> whom he met while they were employed by Condé Nast. Pollock has worked as an executive of ''Architectural Digest'' and West Elm, a brand of houseware stores.<ref name="NYT 2022">{{cite news |last1=Abarbanel |first1=Aliza |title=On Long Island's South Shore, a Leisurely Summer Dinner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/t-magazine/andy-baraghani-dinner-party.html |access-date=August 31, 2022 |work=T |date=July 19, 2022}}</ref> They met in 2017, and after a period of "flirty friendship," they began dating. Pollock proposed in March 2023, and just over a year later, they married in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andy Baraghani and Keith Pollock’s classic New York wedding included more than 15 fantastical desserts |url=https://www.vogue.com.au/fashion/news/andy-baraghani-and-keith-pollocks-classic-new-york-wedding-included-more-than-15-fantastical-desserts/image-gallery/4fac3288e7d8cbaf41899278017460f2}}</ref>
Baraghani stated in a ''Bon Appétit'' article that he had only worked in a kitchen with one other man who was openly gay, despite cooking in "male-led" kitchens through his career, and felt as though kitchens "weren't exactly environments that encouraged me to come out" due to cultural norms of the profession.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tabares |first1=Leland |title=Misfit Professionals: Asian American Chefs and Restaurateurs in the Twenty-First Century |journal=Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory |year=2021 |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=103–132 |doi=10.1353/arq.2021.0006 |s2cid=235717297 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/795006 |issn=1558-9595|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|page=128}}<ref name="hid">{{cite magazine |last1=Baraghani |first1=Andy |title=I Hid Who I Was for So Long. Until I Became a Cook. |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/andy-baraghani-cooking-and-identity |access-date=September 21, 2022 |magazine=Bon Appétit |date=March 16, 2018}}</ref>
== References == <references>
<ref name="Instagram birthday post">{{cite Instagram |user=andybaraghani |postid=B5YLuRVn1Y9 |title=Turned 30 today. It was fitting that the first message I got was from my mother. For so long, I have beaten myself up about where I am in life, how much I’ve accomplished, and where my future is going, but today I feel pretty good and proud about the last 30 years. And I feel pretty damn good about the next 30 years as well. Here is to being one step closer to becoming a daddy 😏❤️ |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B5YLuRVn1Y9/ |access-date=June 5, 2023 |date=November 27, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="The Cook You Want to Be reviews">Reviews for ''The Cook You Want to Be'': * {{cite news |ref=no |last1=Mims |first1=Ben |title=How to master that knack for simple yet revelatory cooking |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2022-05-26/learning-bold-flavors-and-new-skills-with-andy-baraghani |access-date=September 3, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 26, 2022}} * {{cite news |ref=no |last1=Yadegaran |first1=Jessica |title=Andy Baraghani on Persian moms, Chez Panisse and the cook he knows you can be |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/05/23/andy-baraghani-on-persian-moms-chez-panisse-and-the-cook-he-knows-you-can-be/ |access-date=September 3, 2022 |work=The Mercury News |date=May 23, 2022}} * {{cite news |ref=no |last1=Brehaut |first1=Laura |title=Andy Baraghani wants you to stay curious, in and out of the kitchen |url=https://nationalpost.com/life/food/andy-baraghani-wants-you-to-stay-curious-in-and-out-of-the-kitchen |access-date=September 22, 2022 |work=National Post |date=August 26, 2022}} * {{cite news |ref=no |last1=Maida |first1=Josie |title=Former 'Bon Appétit' editor, cookbook author Andy Baraghani says preserving jams and pickles with his Iranian family 'instilled integrity' in his work |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/former-bon-appetit-editor-andy-baraghani-releases-new-cookbook-182430825.html |access-date=September 3, 2022 |work=Yahoo Life |date=May 20, 2022}} </ref>
</references>
==External links== * [https://www.andybaraghani.com/recipes Recipes by Andy Baraghani]
{{Bon Appetit Personalities}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baraghani, Andy}} Category:1989 births Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:Living people Category:American cookbook writers Category:American food writers Category:American gay writers Category:Chefs from Berkeley, California Category:Iranian chefs Category:Iranian cookbook writers Category:Iranian non-fiction writers Category:Iranian writers Category:LGBTQ chefs Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state) Category:New York University alumni Category:Chefs from New York City Category:Writers from Berkeley, California Category:Bon Appétit people Category:American writers of Iranian descent Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century chefs Category:21st-century food writers