Sohla El-Waylly's Humble Beginnings In The Food Industry

There are stories in the world of child prodigies like Mozart, and the food world is no different. The New York Times points to Jacques Pepin and Flynn McGarry as just two examples of chefs who found incredible success at a young age. Most aren't quite so fortunate to find ourselves in the top caliber of our given career early on though, and everyone has to start somewhere. Celebrity chef Sohla El-Waylly is a great example of a talented chef who had to work her way up through the culinary ranks.

According to Screen Rant, El-Waylly is known by some for her work as the host of many of Bon Appétit's YouTube videos. El-Waylly would part ways with the company after only working there for a year following the well documented mistreatment of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) employees. Since then, El-Waylly has gone on to recreate historical foods for History's "Ancient Recipes" on YouTube, produce her own videos, and is working on a cookbook. Variety reports that she was also brought on to Dan Levy's "The Big Brunch," an HBO Max cooking competition series where she serves as judge alongside Levy and Will Guidara.

Recently, El-Waylly appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" to promote the series, talk about the joys of brunch, and recount her earliest experiences working in kitchens.

El-Waylly began her appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," by showing him how to craft a french omelet that would make Wolfgang Puck proud, but she ended it by sharing that her first "professional" experience was working in a Baskin-Robbins (TVOvermind says that El-Waylly's parents owned a Baskin-Robbins near Los Angeles when she was a child). El-Waylly says that she was tasked with serving up the frozen yogurt at that time, though Baskin-Robbins is best known for its 31 flavors, which it debuted with in 1945. 

El-Waylly would go on from these humble beginnings to properly polish her cooking skills at the Culinary Institute of America, per Screen Rant. From there she would hone her talents even further at New York restaurants like Del Posto and Atera.

Now, her expertise is so well regarded that she's asked to judge other people's cooking. So, no matter how humble someone's beginnings, they can always find their own success.