Clarice Lam was born in Toronto, Canada and raised in Los Angeles, California by her parents who emigrated from Hong Kong. After graduating high school, Clarice moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in modeling which gave her the opportunity to travel internationally for over a decade while living in the UK, France, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Mexico, Spain, South Africa and Italy.
Clarice displayed an astute palate from early on, when, while grocery shopping at the age of 3 with her mother, she screamed that she wanted chicken noodle soup. Her befuddled mother continued shopping as normal, but connected the dots two aisles later, where a woman was handing out samples of chicken noodle soup. A gourmand in-the-making had been recognized.
Clarice’s parents traveled frequently and always brought back local treats and snacks, sparking her passion for foods and flavors from far off places. Her time in Paris ignited a deep appreciation for the world of French pastry. While living in Italy, she attended Le Cordon Bleu where she took courses in Italian cuisine.
After retiring from modeling, she returned to the U.S. where she studied at The French Culinary Institute and graduated with a Grand Diplôme in Classic Pastry Arts. Clarice built her foundation in critically acclaimed establishments including Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market, and as the executive chef at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn.
In 2012, Clarice opened Brooklyn-based The Baking Bean, a direct-to-consumer bakery specializing in all-natural, seasonal desserts and confections that The New York Times deemed “high quality and handsome”. In 2020, when the global pandemic hit, Clarice put The Baking Bean on hold and joined Rivers and Hills Hospitality Group as the opening pastry chef for Kimika, an Italian-Japanese restaurant in Nolita that Condé Nast Traveler named one of 2021’s best new restaurants in the world; and in 2022, scored a James Beard semifinalist nomination for Best New Restaurant.
Clarice is also an avid yogi, beach bum, and turtle lover. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, People, Good Morning America, NY Daily News, Food & Wine, Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, Eater, South China Morning Post, and many more. She has appeared on multiple TV shows including Sweet Genius (2012), Food.Curated. (2017), Beat Bobby Flay (2018), Beat Bobby Flay: Revenge (2019), and most recently Best Baker in America (2021) where she finished as a semifinalist. She is currently on The Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge (2022) in her first role as a series judge on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee.
Clarice is currently working on her first cookbook Breaking Bao, to be published by Chronicle Books in 2024. Additionally, Clarice is on the Pro Advisory Committee at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education), a freelance contributor at The Spruce Eats, Epicurious, and Food & Wine, and chef ambassador for Mondelez International after winning the 2021 nationwide Oreo™ recipe contest, Hope and Sesame, and Yakult. She is also an affiliate partner for Chrissy Teigen’s lifestyle brand, Cravings.