REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY – Spiced

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SPICED: A PASTRY CHEF’S TRUE STORIES OF TRIALS BY FIRE, AFTER-HOURS EXPLOITS, AND WHAT REALLY GOES ON IN THE KITCHEN

• Author: Dalia Jurgensen
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (April 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425232522
• ASIN: B0042P59VO
• Suggested retail: $15.00

ABOUT SPICED

For as long as she can remember Dalia Jurgensen wanted to cook. By age five she would stand on a chair at the counter next to her Danish mother, shaping frikadeller and peeling potatoes for bikser mad. She adored every detail, from baking side-by-side and shaping dough to making hearty apple cobbler-like ablecage. For her thirteenth birthday, when peers reached for romances or mysteries, she read and re-read her most treasured gift: a copy of the marvelously illustrated Grand Diplome Cooking Course. And when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she was unequivocal: she wanted to be a chef.

Yet despite her love of all things culinary, it wasn’t until her mid-twenties that Jurgensen got serious about cooking. With a conventional college degree and a couple of years in publishing behind her, she abruptly quit her job to pursue her dream and enroll in culinary school. It was a leap of faith that changed and defined her life in ways she’d never imagined. Now Jurgensen shares the delicious details in SPICED: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen, an eye-opening look at the sweet and sour of following your passion.

Refreshingly candid and simmering with kitchen drama, SPICED traces Jurgensen’s hard-earned metamorphosis from lowly pastry cook to acclaimed executive pastry chef at a three-star New York City restaurant. But SPICED is much more than a personal memoir. In the entertaining tradition of Kitchen Confidential, it’s an unforgettable insider’s tour through some of Manhattan ’s finest kitchens, the first to come from a woman’s perspective.

MY THOUGHTS

I received a copy of Spiced. It is a nonfiction book, not a cookbook. The story is written sort of in the way that a person might tell a friend about their day at work. The book isn’t about the food, but what goes on behind the food scenes. You learn about the author’s social life as well as her professional life starting at the bottom of the food chain (as it were), including mishaps and problems on the job. This book is light reading and sure to interest anyone that enjoys reading behind the scenes type of stories.

WIN IT!

ONE winner will receive a copy of the book Spiced.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite pastry is.

BONUS ENTRIES

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Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

The winner will be selected using the “And the winner is” plugin. US addresses only please, no PO Boxes. This contest will end on Wednesday 06/29/11 at 11:59 pm est.  If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won.  Good luck to everyone!

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.