Sohla El-Waylly is the Bangladeshi-American chef, cookbook author, and YouTube creator whose 2023 cookbook Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook established her as one of the most technically rigorous American food writers of her generation. After leaving the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen in 2020 during the racial pay disparity reckoning that she helped publicly document, El-Waylly built a multi-platform career across NYT Cooking (Mystery Menu), the Babish Culinary Universe (Stump Sohla), Food52, and her own social media presence, with Start Here cementing her position as a serious cookbook author.
TL;DR
- Bangladeshi-American chef and cookbook author with a Culinary Institute of America pastry background
- Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook (October 2023) is her defining cookbook
- Former Bon Appetit Test Kitchen assistant editor 2019 to 2020; departed during the racial pay disparity scandal
- Post-BA shows: Stump Sohla (Babish), Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham (NYT Cooking), Off-Script with Sohla (Food52)
- Married to chef Hamilton Frank Ham Frager; the couple co-hosts Mystery Menu
Key facts about Sohla El-Waylly
| Real name | Sohla El-Waylly |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi-American |
| Spouse | Hamilton (Ham) Frager (chef and recipe developer) |
| Training | Culinary Institute of America (CIA) pastry program |
| Major book | Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook (October 2023) |
| Previous role | Bon Appetit Test Kitchen assistant editor (2019 to 2020) |
| Current shows | Mystery Menu (NYT Cooking), Stump Sohla (Babish), Off-Script (Food52) |
Origins from professional pastry to Bon Appetit
Sohla El-Waylly trained as a pastry chef through the Culinary Institute of America and built her early career in professional New York restaurant kitchens including Atera and other fine-dining venues. She and her husband Hamilton Frank Ham Frager (also a CIA-trained chef) operated their own restaurant Hail Mary in Brooklyn from 2016 to 2018 before the restaurant closed and she joined the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen as an assistant editor in 2019.
Her on-camera presence at Bon Appetit grew rapidly through her assistant-editor appearances and the Test Kitchen Talks At Home series during the pandemic. By spring 2020 she had become one of the recognizable cast members. The June 2020 racial pay disparity scandal at Bon Appetit Test Kitchen was triggered in part by El-Wayllys public statement that she had been asked to appear in videos without compensation that white colleagues received. The statement became one of the defining moments of the 2020 food media reckoning, and she departed the BA cast over the following months alongside Priya Krishna, Rick Martinez, and others.
Sohla El-Waylly career timeline
- Early years Born to Bangladeshi-immigrant family in California
- 2010s Trains at the Culinary Institute of America in the pastry program; works in professional New York restaurant kitchens including Atera
- 2016 to 2018 Operates her own Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary with husband Hamilton (Ham) Frager
- 2019 Joins Bon Appetit Test Kitchen as assistant editor; quickly becomes a recurring on-camera presence
- Spring 2020 Test Kitchen Talks At Home series during pandemic raises her profile substantially
- June 2020 Publicly states she had been asked to appear in videos without compensation that white colleagues received; the statement helps trigger the broader BA Test Kitchen racial pay disparity reckoning
- Late 2020 to 2021 Departs Bon Appetit; launches Stump Sohla on the Babish Culinary Universe channel
- 2021 Launches Off-Script with Sohla on Food52
- 2022 to 2023 Launches Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham on NYT Cooking with husband Hamilton Frager
- October 2023 Publishes Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook with Knopf
- 2023 to 2024 Start Here receives extensive critical attention; nominated for major cookbook awards
- 2025 to 2026 Continues Mystery Menu, Off-Script, and additional video work alongside cookbook projects
Sohla El-Waylly signature style and editorial approach
The Sohla El-Waylly editorial signature is technical rigor combined with conversational accessibility. Her training as a CIA pastry chef gives her professional kitchen credentials, but her on-camera style explicitly demystifies that training for home cooks rather than gatekeeping behind it. The Stump Sohla format on Babish, where the rest of the team gives her unusual ingredient challenges and she works out how to cook them, became a defining series that demonstrated both her technical depth and her teaching ability.
Start Here (2023) extends the same approach into book form. The cookbook is explicitly structured as a teaching text rather than a recipe collection, walking home cooks through fundamental techniques with detailed explanations of why each step matters. The framing positions Start Here closer to J. Kenji López-Alts The Food Lab than to traditional cookbook collections, though El-Wayllys voice and editorial choices are distinct.
Notable work: Start Here, Mystery Menu, and the post-BA portfolio
Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook (October 2023, Knopf) is structured around fundamentals every cook needs to internalize, with extensive narrative about why each technique works. The book received extensive critical attention upon publication and was widely cited as one of the most ambitious teaching cookbooks of recent years. The format has been compared to The Food Lab but with El-Wayllys distinct editorial voice and pastry-chef-informed perspective.
Beyond the book, El-Wayllys multi-platform portfolio is notable. Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham on NYT Cooking pairs her with husband Hamilton Frager in an episodic format where they cook through unusual ingredients or themes. Stump Sohla on the Babish Culinary Universe pre-dated her cookbook and built her individual brand. Off-Script with Sohla on Food52 added a third platform. The combination demonstrates how a former Bon Appetit cast member can rebuild a substantial career across multiple platforms rather than depending on any single channel.
Awards and recognition
- 2020 Becomes a defining voice in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen racial pay disparity reckoning
- 2021 onward Builds the Stump Sohla, Off-Script, and Mystery Menu video portfolio across multiple platforms
- October 2023 Publishes Start Here to extensive critical acclaim
- 2024 to 2026 Continues multi-platform video and cookbook work; remains one of the most-cited post-BA cast members
Impact and cultural relevance
Sohla El-Waylly is among the most influential voices in contemporary American food media. Her 2020 willingness to publicly document the Bon Appetit pay disparity helped trigger the editorial reckoning that reshaped food YouTube, and her subsequent career demonstrates that on-camera food talent can build durable careers outside of single-publisher models. The multi-platform portfolio across Babish, NYT, and Food52 is studied as a creator-economy case for diversifying beyond a single channel.
Start Here positions El-Waylly alongside J. Kenji López-Alt as one of the most ambitious teaching cookbook authors of her generation. The pastry training gives her a distinct perspective on technique that distinguishes the book from competitor analytical cookbooks. Within the post-Bon Appetit cohort, she has become arguably the most prominent voice, with her trajectory frequently cited alongside Molly Baz, Andy Baraghani, and others in coverage of how the 2020 reckoning reshaped American food media.
Sohla El-Waylly FAQ
Who is Sohla El-Waylly?
Sohla El-Waylly is a Bangladeshi-American chef, cookbook author, and YouTube creator. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America as a pastry chef, worked in professional New York restaurants, joined Bon Appetit in 2019, and published Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook in October 2023.
What is Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly?
Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook is Sohla El-Wayllys October 2023 cookbook with Knopf. The book is structured as a teaching text walking home cooks through fundamental techniques with detailed explanations, comparable in ambition to The Food Lab.
Why did Sohla El-Waylly leave Bon Appetit?
Sohla El-Waylly publicly stated in June 2020 that she had been asked to appear in Bon Appetit videos without compensation that white colleagues received. The statement helped trigger the broader BA Test Kitchen racial pay disparity reckoning, and she departed over the following months.
What is Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham?
Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham is a NYT Cooking YouTube series where Sohla El-Waylly and husband Hamilton Frank Frager cook through unusual ingredients or themes. Both are CIA-trained chefs and the series pairs their technical expertise with the conversational chemistry of a married couple.
Who is Sohla El-Wayllys husband?
Sohla El-Wayllys husband is Hamilton (Ham) Frager, a fellow CIA-trained chef and recipe developer. The couple co-hosts Mystery Menu with Sohla and Ham on NYT Cooking and previously operated the Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary from 2016 to 2018.
What is next for Sohla El-Waylly
Sohla continues Mystery Menu on NYT Cooking, Off-Script on Food52, and additional video and cookbook projects. Follow her on Instagram (@sohlae).
