John Kanell
John Kanell is the creator of Preppy Kitchen, a cookbook author and former math and science teacher who shares baking lessons, recipes and life on his Connecticut farm.
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Latest
John’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- Known as
- The creator of Preppy Kitchen
- Started
- Founded Preppy Kitchen in 2015
- Before the kitchen
- More than a decade teaching middle school math and science
- Studied
- Fine Arts at UCLA
- Home
- A farm in rural Connecticut with husband Brian and twin sons Lachlan and George
Mini bio
How it started.
John learned to cook from scratch alongside his mother. After studying Fine Arts at UCLA and spending more than a decade teaching middle school math and science, he founded Preppy Kitchen in 2015. His lessons still connect the instructions to the reasons a recipe works.
Finding his audience.
Video was central to his Instagram approach from the beginning. In a 2019 Authority Magazine interview, John said his husband encouraged him to bring his painting background into food presentation because viewers could not taste what he made. He reported growing from zero to more than a million followers across platforms in three years.
From videos to books.
His first cookbook, Preppy Kitchen, arrived in 2022, followed by Super Easy in 2024. Both became New York Times bestsellers. Everyday Baking followed in October 2026. Alongside his recipes, he has appeared as a guest judge on Chopped: Sweets and a recurring judge on Disney’s Magic Bake-Off.
Life around the recipes.
John lives on a Connecticut farm with Brian and their twin boys, Lachlan and George. His Everyday Baking newsletter adds baking lessons, family updates and notes from Hedge Hill Farm to the recipes fans find on his website and videos.
Creditschronological, newest first
Quotes
Honesty and relatability are crucial factors in developing an authentic relationship with your audience.John Kanell, Authority Magazine
In a 2019 interview, explaining what sharing collapsed cakes taught him. https://medium.com/authority-magazine/using-instagram-to-dramatically-improve-your-business-with-john-kanell-and-candice-georgiadis-f42851076a00
Trivia
- The name Preppy Kitchen comes from being prepared in the kitchen.
- He painted for years before applying that artistic eye to his food photography and styling.
- He has shared cakes that collapsed after decorating, as well as the finished successes.
- In a Father’s Day interview, he chose Greek lemon chicken soup, avgolemono, as the one recipe he would pass down to his sons.
Find John
Follow John for recipes, baking lessons and notes from the farm.
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