Is TikTok chef Meredith Hayden Gen Z's Martha Stewart? The Wishbone Kitchen influencer has hosted dinner parties with Joe Jonas and Hasan Minhaj – but why was she upset with Bon Appétit?

South China Morning Post

29-05-2025

Meredith Hayden, a chef and social media influencer, amassed millions of followers on TikTok by sharing videos of herself preparing meals for a wealthy family in the Hamptons. She's since become so popular that she's a regular at hosting dinner parties for celebrities like Joe Jonas and Hasan Minhaj.
She also made headlines earlier this year when she accused popular food magazine Bon Appétit of ripping her off. The publication announced a new series called 'Dinner with Friends' – the name Hayden first used for her own series.
So what else do we know about the influencer who's been dubbed the Gen Z
Martha Stewart
Her love of cooking was inspired by her mum
Wishbone Kitchen's Meredith Hayden last autumn. Photo: @wishbonekitchen/Instagram
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In an interview in People in 2022, Hayden told the outlet that her love of cooking, as well as her social media username @wishbonekitchen, was inspired by her mum.
'The inspiration behind me getting into cooking has always been my mum. She was a fabulous cook growing up. And once a week, she would make us a roast chicken for dinner, and she would always save the wishbone when she would carve the chicken,' Hayden said. 'After dinner, we would do the thing where you pull the wishbone in half, and whoever gets the bigger half gets to make a wish. I just have really fond memories of being in the kitchen with my mum.'
She worked at Condé Nast
Meredith Hayden previously worked at Condé Nast, and had hopes of becoming a recipe developer at Bon Appétit. Photo: @wishbonekitchen/Instagram
Before 29-year-old Hayden became a professional home chef, she worked in marketing at Condé Nast – but her passion was always cooking. Hayden would take culinary evening courses at the Institute of Culinary Education, hoping to eventually become a recipe developer at Bon Appétit.
In 2020, she landed her first gig as a personal cook for designer Joseph Altuzarra and his husband Seth Weissman, per the New York Post. This is also when Hayden began her Instagram account @WishboneKitchen.
Condé Nast is the parent company of Bon Appétit, so it seemed ironic that Hayden had tried to transfer to a job at the foodie magazine before she says it ripped off her idea. 'You rejected me to work there for two years,' she said when calling out the publication for the 'Dinner with Friends' controversy.
Finding TikTok fame