Andy Baraghani is the Iranian-American chef, cookbook author, and former Bon Appetit senior food editor whose 2022 cookbook The Cook You Want to Be established him as one of the most distinctive recipe developers of his generation. After leaving Bon Appetit in August 2021 as one of the longer-tenured BA Test Kitchen YouTube cast members to depart in the aftermath of the 2020 racial pay disparity scandal, Baraghani has built an independent career as a freelance recipe developer and cookbook author, with The Cook You Want to Be widely cited as one of the defining cookbooks of the post-Bon Appetit creator diaspora.
TL;DR
- Iranian-American chef and cookbook author, born in Northern California to Iranian-immigrant parents
- The Cook You Want to Be (May 2022) is his defining cookbook with Lorena Jones Books
- Former Bon Appetit senior food editor 2014 to August 2021, longer-tenured than most of the BA YouTube cast
- Built reputation on bold vegetable-forward recipes and distinctive flavor combinations
- Trained in Persian-American home cooking; cited Bay Area restaurant Chez Panisse and chef April Bloomfield as early influences
Key facts about Andy Baraghani
| Real name | Andy Baraghani |
| Born | Northern California to Iranian-immigrant parents |
| Nationality | Iranian-American |
| Based in | Brooklyn, New York |
| Major book | The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress (May 2022) |
| Previous role | Bon Appetit senior food editor (2014 to August 2021) |
| Signature style | Vegetable-forward cooking with bold flavor combinations |
Origins from Northern California to Bon Appetit
Andy Baraghani grew up in Northern California to Iranian-immigrant parents, and the Persian-American home cooking he learned from his mother became the foundation of his later professional cooking. He cites Berkeleys Chez Panisse and the work of chef April Bloomfield as early influences that shaped his vegetable-forward philosophy. After culinary training and early restaurant work in the Bay Area and New York, Baraghani joined Bon Appetit in 2014 as a food editor, eventually rising to senior food editor and becoming one of the longer-tenured members of the Test Kitchen YouTube cast.
His Bon Appetit recipes were noted for distinctive flavor combinations that balanced the magazines accessibility framing with adventurous ingredient pairings. The June 2020 racial pay disparity scandal at Bon Appetit Test Kitchen triggered the cascade of departures that reshaped the channel, but Baraghani stayed on through August 2021 longer than many of his colleagues. The May 2022 publication of The Cook You Want to Be marked his transition into a fully independent career as a freelance recipe developer and cookbook author.
Andy Baraghani career timeline
- Early life Grows up in Northern California to Iranian-immigrant parents, with Persian home cooking as a daily background
- Culinary training Trains in professional kitchens including Bay Area and New York restaurants; cites Chez Panisse and April Bloomfield as influences
- 2014 Joins Bon Appetit as a food editor
- 2015 to 2020 Rises to senior food editor; becomes a recurring on-camera presence in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen YouTube series
- June 2020 Bon Appetit Test Kitchen racial pay disparity scandal breaks
- August 2021 Departs Bon Appetit after seven years; becomes a freelance recipe developer
- May 2022 Publishes The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress with Lorena Jones Books
- 2022 to 2023 The Cook You Want to Be receives extensive critical attention and becomes a defining post-BA cookbook
- 2023 to 2024 Continues recipe development for NYT Cooking, Bon Appetit (freelance), and other outlets; brand expansion through social media
- 2025 to 2026 Remains based in Brooklyn with ongoing cookbook and recipe development work
Andy Baraghani signature style and editorial approach
The Andy Baraghani editorial signature is vegetable-forward home cooking with distinctive flavor combinations. His recipes typically build around 3 to 5 high-impact ingredients used assertively rather than 15+ ingredients balanced cautiously. The framing draws from the Chez Panisse and April Bloomfield traditions where vegetable quality and seasonal sourcing matter more than complex preparation. Herbs, citrus, alliums, and fermented ingredients appear frequently as the flavor anchors.
The cookbook voice in The Cook You Want to Be is direct, encouraging, and explicitly aimed at home cooks who want to develop their own confidence rather than follow recipes mechanically. The framing positions cooking as something that improves through judgment and personal voice rather than pure technique mastery. The approach has been editorially influential for the broader vegetable-forward American cooking movement that grew during the 2020s.
Notable work: The Cook You Want to Be
The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress (May 2022, Lorena Jones Books) is structured around the question of how home cooks develop their own personal voice in the kitchen. The book is organized by mood and occasion rather than by ingredient or cuisine, with chapter framings that emphasize how cooking fits into actual life rather than abstract recipe categories. The recipes themselves showcase Baraghanis signature vegetable-forward approach with bold flavor combinations.
Critical reception positioned the book as one of the defining contemporary cookbooks for the home cook audience. The book was widely featured in major food publications and cited in coverage of the post-Bon Appetit cohort alongside Molly Bazs Cook This Book and Sohla El-Wayllys Start Here as the defining outputs of the BA diaspora.
Awards and recognition
- 2014 to 2021 Senior food editor at Bon Appetit during the magazines peak YouTube years
- May 2022 Publishes The Cook You Want to Be to extensive critical acclaim
- 2022 to 2023 The Cook You Want to Be cited as defining post-Bon Appetit cookbook
- 2024 to 2026 Continues independent recipe development and cookbook projects
Impact and cultural relevance
Andy Baraghani is one of the most influential post-Bon Appetit cookbook authors, with The Cook You Want to Be representing a distinct editorial voice within the vegetable-forward American cooking movement. The framing of cooking as a personal voice rather than recipe execution has been editorially influential, opening space for other recipe developers to write with more personality and less algorithmic optimization.
Within the post-Bon Appetit cohort, Baraghanis trajectory is studied alongside Molly Baz, Sohla El-Waylly, Rick Martinez, and others who built substantial independent careers in the years following the 2020 reckoning. The August 2021 timing of his departure was notably later than most of his colleagues, suggesting a more gradual transition than the immediate June 2020 exits that defined the initial wave.
Andy Baraghani FAQ
Who is Andy Baraghani?
Andy Baraghani is an Iranian-American chef, cookbook author, and former Bon Appetit senior food editor. He is best known for his 2022 cookbook The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress, which became one of the defining post-Bon Appetit cookbooks.
What is The Cook You Want to Be?
The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress is Andy Baraghanis May 2022 cookbook with Lorena Jones Books. The book is organized around the question of how home cooks develop their own personal cooking voice, with bold vegetable-forward recipes.
When did Andy Baraghani leave Bon Appetit?
Andy Baraghani left Bon Appetit in August 2021 after seven years as a food editor and senior food editor, becoming a freelance recipe developer. He stayed longer than most of his BA Test Kitchen cast colleagues who departed after the 2020 racial pay disparity scandal.
What is Andy Baraghanis cooking style?
Andy Baraghanis signature style is vegetable-forward home cooking with bold flavor combinations. His recipes typically build around 3 to 5 high-impact ingredients used assertively, drawing on Persian-American home cooking traditions and the Chez Panisse and April Bloomfield influences.
Where does Andy Baraghani live?
Andy Baraghani lives in Brooklyn, New York, having moved from Northern California for his food media career. He grew up in Northern California to Iranian-immigrant parents before relocating east for Bon Appetit.
What is next for Andy Baraghani
Andy continues freelance recipe development for NYT Cooking and other major outlets, alongside ongoing cookbook and brand projects. Follow him on Instagram (@andybaraghani).
