After spending a mere hour with Claire Thomas, I’m daydreaming about being invited to one of her dinner parties. I’m certain that there would be good food, good wine, and Claire— presumably decked out in a stylish ensemble, as she is when she opens the door to greet me (her dress is vintage, she shares)—charming her guests with endless conversations about old movies, books, and anecdotes from her jampacked, daily adventures. It also doesn’t hurt that her home is the ideal location to host such
an event—each room has its own vibe, a perfect union of contemporary and classic, of rugged and chic. Art adorns the walls, the kitchen has a massive island (the biggest I’ve ever seen), and the living room, accessorized with a wall filled with books tucked into shelves, looks out over a sweeping deck and backyard. Party central indeed. At the beginning of our photo shoot at her home, Claire, with her background in design, food, and directing, seems a bit unsure about one of the shots that our photographer wants to get. But she graciously takes on the challenge, mapping it out and then posing for us. After the
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pictures are taken, Claire offers us a piece of the cake that she has made that day, removing it from the platter on the table where she typically photographs her food. I pause for a second before I say anything, and Claire jokes that she knows that hesitation—that’s the hesitation of someone who wants a piece! As soon as I take a bite, I’m a goner. It’s heavenly—moist, rich, and full of sweet, buttery flavor. When we sit down in her comfy living room to chat, I’m already sold on Claire Thomas as food extraordinaire. But when she opens her mouth, she confirms that she really is a do-it-all, dedicated creative marvel as well. Claire’s career tale begins with The Kitchy Kitchen, a food blog. Bored by her job as an assistant in Hollywood, Claire says she started the blog “as a fun thing to do creatively. I just needed an outlet, and my mom saw how into food I was getting.” But Claire—a selfproclaimed nerd who fell in love with cooking through food history—wanted to take the proper steps to prepare for her new project. “I did research [on blogs] and practiced and picked up a camera and learned how to do food photography and did recipe testing not realizing that the internet doesn’t care. No one’s there to watch you fail.” She laughs. “It’s one of those things where I could have failed in silence, and it would have been an embarrassing relic of my past. But I took it very seriously.” Her hard work and preparation proved effectual because the blog took off. Soon, Claire was getting work as a food stylist and food photographer in LA. She also worked as a personal chef and a food writer for The Huffington Post. And then she started making videos, which catapulted her into even greater success.