She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation and IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) for her work.
[9] Clark attended Stuyvesant High School[7][8] and then Barnard College, where she studied English and history and wrote a thesis on the role of food in Don Quixote.
[7] In her early career, Clark was a freelance writer for various publications, including the New York Times, and worked in "front of house" jobs at restaurants.
[11] In 2015, Clark gained attention for a recipe for guacamole with green peas that she had reported on a few years earlier (the recipe was created as a collaboration between chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and chef de cuisine Ian Coogan for Vongerichten's restaurant ABC Cocina); the piece was re-tweeted by The New York Times and attracted viral feedback, including tweets from President Barack Obama and former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, both of whom disapproved of her addition of peas to the traditional recipe ingredients.
[12] Clark has written more than 40 cookbooks,[12] including Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine (2007), with Daniel Boulud;[17] East of Paris with David Bouley; The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern with Claudia Fleming,[8] the former pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York;[18] and Cook This Now (2011), which focuses on seasonal cooking.