Claire Ptak is an American pastry chef, formerly of legendary Chez Panisse restaurant in California. She moved to London in 2005 and founded Violet Cakes featuring delicious, American-style cakes and treats made with seasonal, natural, and organic ingredients. She began selling them at the Broadway Market, then in 2010, opened Violet, her acclaimed bakery and café in Hackney. Violet has been featured in American Vogue, Red magazine, Timeout, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Susie Bubble visited Violet on Monki TV and Jamie Oliver calls Claire “my favourite cake maker in the whole world.” She was tasked with baking a very special wedding cake in 2018 for Prince Harry and Megan Markle.

Claire is also a food stylist and the author of four cookbooks: Leon: Baking & Puddings; The Whoopie Pie Book; The Home-MadeSweet Shop and The Violet Bakery Cookbook.