Rie McClenny

Rie McClenny is the Japanese-American chef, cookbook author, and BuzzFeed Tasty Senior Video Producer whose Make It Fancy series and 2023 cookbook Make It Japanese made her one of the most recognizable Japanese home-cooking voices in American food media. Born in the Hiroshima prefecture, McClenny trained in New York, worked the line at Jeremy Foxs Rustic Canyon and Suzanne Goins AOC in Los Angeles, and joined BuzzFeed Tasty Japan in 2016.

TL;DR

• Japanese-American chef, born November 19, 1980 in the Hiroshima prefecture of Japan
• Trained at culinary school in New York, worked the line at Rustic Canyon and AOC in Los Angeles
• Joined BuzzFeed Tasty Japan in April 2016, created the Make It Fancy series in November 2018
• Published debut cookbook Make It Japanese in October 2023 with Clarkson Potter, a Best Cookbook of the Year for LA Times, NPR, and Good Housekeeping
• Married to Blair McClenny, mother to son Hugo Mirai born March 19, 2020

Key facts about Rie McClenny

Early life and culinary training

Rie McClenny was born on November 19, 1980, in a small seaside city in the Hiroshima prefecture of southwestern Japan. She has described much of her childhood as time spent digging for clams, hanging out at her grandmothers kissaten (a Japanese-style cafe and tearoom), and watching her mother fold gyoza dumplings faster than the eye could follow. The dishes that show up most often in her cookbook, including oyako don, miso soup, and nabe, are the ones she grew up eating at home.

Her interest in cooking actually started during a high school exchange year in rural West Virginia, when homesickness pushed her to recreate Japanese family dishes from American supermarket ingredients. That early adaptation work, soy-glazed chicken legs and coffee jelly built from what was available, became the template for the cookbook she would eventually write nearly two decades later.

Rie McClenny career timeline

• Late 2000s Moves from Japan to New York City to attend culinary school
• 2014 to 2015 Works as a line cook at Jeremy Foxs Rustic Canyon and Suzanne Goins AOC in Los Angeles, learning French technique applied to seasonal California produce
• April 2016 Joins BuzzFeed Tasty Japan as a Food Video Producer, fluent in Japanese with a culinary degree and restaurant kitchen experience
• 2017 to 2018 Builds video producer skill set, teaches herself editing and filming basics
• November 2018 Launches Make It Fancy, a Tasty series in which she transforms ordinary dishes into elevated versions
• March 19, 2020 Gives birth to her son Hugo Mirai with husband Blair McClenny
• 2021 onwards Continues as Senior Video Producer at Tasty, appearing in Tasty 101, I Draw You Cook, and Eating Your Feed
• October 24, 2023 Publishes debut cookbook Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone with Clarkson Potter
• 2023 to 2024 Make It Japanese named Best Cookbook of the Year by Los Angeles Times, NPR, and Good Housekeeping, with endorsements from Nobu Matsuhisa, Dorie Greenspan, and Roy Choi

Rie McClenny signature style and cooking philosophy

McClennys cooking philosophy is approachability without losing identity. Make It Japanese is built around a handful of pantry staples, soy sauce, mirin, sake, dashi, and the conviction that authentic Japanese home cooking is achievable in any American supermarket. The book contains 85 recipes covering donburi rice bowls, home-style tempura, nabe hot pots, and pickles, all written for cooks who do not have specialty Japanese groceries within driving distance.

Her French technique foundation, picked up at Rustic Canyon under Jeremy Fox and at AOC under Suzanne Goin, shows up in how she handles seasonality and texture rather than in the recipes themselves. The Make It Fancy video series at Tasty is the comic mirror image of her cookbook work: where Make It Japanese strips back, Make It Fancy adds on, transforming a basic recipe into something restaurant-style.

Notable work: Make It Fancy and Make It Japanese

Make It Fancy is McClennys signature BuzzFeed Tasty series, launched in November 2018. Each episode takes an everyday dish and adds techniques, ingredients, or presentation to make it fancy, often putting her in a head-to-head against fellow Tasty producer Alix Traeger. The series ran 17 episodes in its first season.

Make It Japanese, published October 24, 2023, by Clarkson Potter, is McClennys debut cookbook. The 85 recipes are organized around simple techniques and pantry-friendly ingredients, with a focus on what is achievable in an American supermarket. The book received endorsements from Nobu Matsuhisa (“reconnected me with the wonderful Japanese home cooking that I have always loved”), Dorie Greenspan, and Roy Choi, and was named Best Cookbook of the Year by Los Angeles Times, NPR, and Good Housekeeping.

Awards and recognition

• 2023 Make It Japanese named Best Cookbook of the Year, Los Angeles Times
• 2023 Make It Japanese named Best Cookbook of the Year, NPR
• 2023 Make It Japanese named Best Cookbook of the Year, Good Housekeeping
• 2023 Featured endorsements from Nobu Matsuhisa, Dorie Greenspan, and Roy Choi

Impact and cultural relevance

McClennys path from Japanese exchange student in West Virginia to Senior Producer at BuzzFeed Tasty and bestselling cookbook author tracks a wider trend in American food media: a generation of immigrant chefs reframing home cuisines for non-specialist American audiences. Make It Japanese sits alongside David Changs early Lucky Peach work and Maangchis Korean YouTube channel as part of that shift. Her parallel work with peers like Alvin Zhou and Alexis deBoschnek on the Tasty production team built the visual grammar that defined Tasty in the late 2010s.

Within the YouTube food creator ecosystem more broadly, McClenny represents the chef-trained, restaurant-veteran wing rather than the self-taught creator path of figures like Guga Foods or Sonny Side. Her cookbook work has carried that restaurant rigor back into home cooking literature.

Rie McClenny FAQ

Where is Rie McClenny from?

McClenny was born in a seaside city in the Hiroshima prefecture of southwestern Japan on November 19, 1980. She moved to the United States as a high school exchange student in West Virginia, later attending culinary school in New York City before settling in Los Angeles.

What restaurants did Rie McClenny work at?

Before joining BuzzFeed Tasty in 2016, McClenny worked as a line cook in Los Angeles at Jeremy Foxs Rustic Canyon and Suzanne Goins AOC. Both experiences gave her French technique and a seasonal California sensibility that shapes her current cooking.

What is Make It Japanese?

Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone is McClennys debut cookbook, published October 24, 2023, by Clarkson Potter. It contains 85 recipes built around easy-to-find Japanese ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, and sake. The book was named Best Cookbook of the Year by Los Angeles Times, NPR, and Good Housekeeping.

What is Rie McClennys role at BuzzFeed Tasty?

McClenny has been a Senior Video Producer at BuzzFeed Tasty since April 2016. She created and hosts the Make It Fancy series, and has appeared in other Tasty programming including Tasty 101, I Draw You Cook, and Eating Your Feed.

Does Rie McClenny have children?

Yes. McClenny and her husband Blair welcomed their son Hugo Mirai on March 19, 2020. She regularly shares family moments on her social media accounts, often connecting them to Japanese cultural traditions like Childrens Day.

What is next for Rie McClenny

McClenny continues as Senior Video Producer at BuzzFeed Tasty in Los Angeles, with ongoing cookbook author appearances and recipe contributions tied to Make It Japanese. A second cookbook has not yet been announced, but she remains active on YouTube, Tasty, and her own platforms. Follow her on Instagram (@rie_mcclenny).