Get That Chic Hamptons Aesthetic With TikToker Meredith Hayden's Must Haves

Two summers ago, Meredith Hayden, creator behind Wishbone Kitchen, hooked the TikTok world when she began documenting her days as a private chef in the Hamptons. (Her client was later revealed to be fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra, only adding more excitement around her cooking videos.) She's since amassed two million followers on TikTok, where she shares a variety of accessible and fancy dishes, as well as candid glimpses into her personal life. In fact, her most recent viral video (with 13 million views and counting) was a hilarious stitch video on her "burner" account showing off her thin ponytail. "I was almost annoyed; the video where I looked the ugliest went the most viral," she jokes.

In September, Hayden announced she was temporarily stepping away from private cheffing to work on her debut cookbook, which is set to release in 2025. Though the transition has been an adjustment for the content creator — she's a Capricorn, so she feels unproductive without an "intense work schedule" — she's excited to focus on both her Substack, The Group Chat, and recipe development. "When I started this career, my main goal was to write cookbooks and develop recipes," she tells POPSUGAR in a recent interview. "The private-chef work was more something I was doing because I needed the money and it was a great opportunity for me to grow."

After four years of working as a chef for private events and clients alike, bringing her recipes to a larger audience felt like her "calling," especially since her mom was a teacher. "[Cheffing] gave me confidence and forced me to get out of my comfort zone and make dishes that I normally wouldn't have even thought to make," she says. "I feel so grateful now to be able to take what I've learned through culinary school, and working in restaurants and as a private chef, and channel that into developing recipes that I can share with the world. That was one thing I never really loved about the idea of restaurant and private-chef work — your food only touches so many people."

In the meantime, Hayden continues to grow her TikTok both professionally and personally. Aside from showing off delicious creations like stuffed "BBLTs," cozy soups, and various pasta dishes, she's also shared more of the content that makes her so relatable, which includes aspects of her personal style, apartment drama, and love life. While she often goes back and forth on what to share with her followers, she tries not to overthink her content too much. "Before I had a following, I only posted food and recipe videos where I rarely showed my face," she says. "It wasn't until I started featuring more parts of my life and doing vlogs of me at work that people started following me. I like to remind myself that I don't have to keep myself in this box of 'only food,' because that's not the whole story when it comes to me as a person."

Recently, the creator partnered with Amex Gold and Resy Present: Dip Into Gold, a Sept. 30 event where customers enjoyed a "sauce-first" dining experience presented by beloved Resy restaurants in New York City. "I've been an Amex customer long before I've been a content creator, mostly because the Amex Gold card is great for people who are constantly going out to dinner or buying groceries. The fact that I get four times points on every single grocery and food expense is kind of a no-brainer for me," she says. (She's been known to spend thousands on a single grocery trip for clients.) "Then you get the added bonus of these experiential events that you have access to with the card."

Following the experience, we chatted with Hayden about all the products she can't live without, which of course include her essentials in the kitchen. From her beloved Le Creuset dutch oven to her must have for poor sleepers, shop the private chef's favorite items ahead.