The Art of Baking Blind
Fiction
St. Martin's Press
May 5, 2015
Hardcover
416
Own copy
In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, cookbook writer and wife of a supermarket magnate, published The Art of Baking, her guide to nurturing a family by creating the most exquisite pastries, biscuits and cakes. Now, five amateur bakers are competing to become the New Mrs. Eaden. There's Jenny, facing an empty nest now that her family has flown; Claire, who has sacrificed her dreams for her daughter; Mike, trying to parent his two kids after his wife's death; Vicki, who has dropped everything to be at home with her baby boy; and Karen, perfect Karen, who knows what it's like to have nothing and is determined her facade shouldn't slip.
As unlikely alliances are forged and secrets rise to the surface, making the choicest pastry seems the least of the contestants' problems. For they will learn--as Mrs. Eaden did before them--that while perfection is possible in the kitchen, it's very much harder in life, in Sarah Vaughan's The Art of Baking Blind.
My review:
This book completely hooked me! Even though the extent of my baking these days involves box brownies and apple pies made for Thanksgiving, I am a sucker for those baking competitions shown on television. Not just the competitions, but I was also hooked for awhile on Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes. This book was made for me! Not surprisingly, the baking competition at the heart of this book was what initially drew me in. However, this book is much more than about a baking show, the five contestants all have compelling stories that we follow during the course of the novel. We find out what prompted them to enter the competition, what they are perhaps hoping to prove, and how they each come to some answers about themselves and their fellow contestants throughout the process. Concurrent with the present day story, there are flashbacks to the woman who wrote the original Art of Baking in the mid 60's. Her story is also fascinating and lends the perfect topping to this desert of a book!
Fans of cooking competitions (particularly The Great British Bake Off) should love jumping into the middle of this well written character study of the original cooking queen, and her upcoming royalty. And trust me when I say, not only will you think about baking as you read, but your mouth will be watering with all the descriptions of the treats!
