California native Claire Ptak is the creative force and chef-owner behind Violet, a bakery and cafe in Hackney, East London. Alongside baking, Claire works extensively as a food stylist and writer. Her fifth cookbook, The Violet Bakery Cookbook was shortlisted for the Fortnum and Mason Best Cookery Book 2016. Claire regularly contributes to the Guardian, and her work has also been featured in Vogue, Bon Appetit, Observer Food Monthly, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Tasting Table, Food52 and beyond.
Claire is also the co-host of Violet Sessions, a bi-monthly podcast of inspiring interviews with creative female pioneers. Created in collaboration with the journalist Danielle Radojcin, each episode of Violet Sessions is recorded upstairs at Violet – sometimes with a live studio audience, sometimes against the clatter and bustle of coffee cups and café chatter. The podcast is free to listen to on itunes.