Life is what you bake it : recipes, stories, & inspiration to bake your way to the top /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR- Boston Globe . ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR- Food Network, The Washington Post, Time Out, Glamour, Taste of Home, Library Journal

"As much about a collection of recipes that makes your mouth water and tugs at your heart with food memories as it is about the chronicles and life lessons of a true comeback kid."-Carla Hall

Popular baking personality and lawyer turned baker Vallery Lomas debutsher first baking bookcelebrating more than100 recipes for everything from Apple Cider Fritters to Lemon-Honey Madeleines and Crawfish Hand Pies to her Grandma's Million Dollar Cake. Vallery shares heirloom family recipes from her native Louisiana, time spent in Paris, The Great American Baking Show (which she famously won!), and of course sweets and breads inspired by her adopted hometown, New York City. Vallery's "when life gives you lemons, make lemon curd" philosophy will empower legions of bakers and fans to find their inner warrior and bake their best life.

" Life Is What You Bake It is not only a collection of recipes but also an empowering book that shows us there's often more possible than we can even imagine."-Julia Turshen, bestselling author of Simply Julia, host of Keep Calm and Cook On podcast, and founder of Equity at the Table

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Introduction I quit my job as an attorney to become a baker for one simple reason: I had a burning desire to do something different with my life. I could not continue to give the best hours of my day to a job that I wasn't passionate about. After I won The Great American Baking Show, I knew that I had a small window of opportunity to take advantage of my success and turn it into a new career path. Pursuing my foodie dreams while working a full-time job as an attorney felt like an impossible task, and I wanted to give myself a real shot to follow my dream career in food media. Five months after my winning television season had been cancelled, I made a firm decision to take the plunge. Quitting my job felt like a rash decision, but my journals and therapist can attest otherwise: Baking full-time was something I had wanted for years. In some ways, I was already doing it . I spent mornings, nights, and weekends baking for Instagram. But in many ways, I wasn't prepared at all. As a government attorney with a limited income, I had no assets, no savings, and many (many) student loans. But what I did have was a vision of what my life could be! And I knew the importance of articulating that vision by writing it down and mapping out a path. I often tell myself: If you can't even admit to yourself what your dreams are, how on earth can you translate them from your head to reality? The path I mapped out included building a network of mentors and connecting with other food media pros. It did not include writer's block, devoting significant time and energy to SponCon, and losing my senses of taste and smell temporarily, even though those are obstacles I overcame. Less than a year after quitting my job, I did it: I sold my cookbook proposal and was regularly booking work as a food media freelancer. The rest is history. I'm still surprised by my gall to start a food blog during my final year of law school instead of looking for a job. It was 2009, and the recession was in full force. I was filled with angst, but I decided to lean into what made me happy instead of dwelling on what I couldn't control. I knew that baking made me happy, because I would excitedly jump out of bed to activate yeast or bake muffins to share with my classmates. And within days of my first experimental recipes, I started to document the results in a blog. I began my final year of law school in an obsessive baking mode, and I baked something new every day that school year. I have to admit--if there had been no recession, there would have been no blog. And if there had been no blog, there would have been no atFoodieInNewYork Instagram account seven years later. And if there had been no Instagram account, I wouldn't have been discovered by a casting director for The Great American Baking Show . And if I hadn't been on The Great American Baking Show , I'd probably be looking up case law while sitting in a cubicle instead of living out the bravest life I dared to dream. Excerpted from Life Is What You Bake It: Recipes, Stories, and Inspiration to Bake Your Way to the Top: a Baking Book by Vallery Lomas All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In this charming debut cookbook, Lomas reflects on her career so far and presents a series of family recipes that have seen her through life's ups and downs. Notably, Lomas recalls her time competing on the Great American Baking Show, its sudden cancelation in 2017, and her need to continue on in the face of disappointment. This book collects Lomas's favorite recipes that she premiered on the show, along with tried-and-true desserts influenced by her grandmothers. The wide-ranging recipes reflect the baker's Louisiana Creole upbringing; her time studying in France as a college student; and her years in New York, as an attorney selling her noteworthy macarons on the side. Whether they're making Lomas's family recipes (cornmeal pancakes) or desserts for entertaining (almost-ate-the-plate carrot cake), home bakers will be enlightened by her reassuring words and time-saving tips, some incorporating store-bought pie dough or boxed cake mixes. Lomas is at her best when sharing her beloved cake recipes, including ingredient variations and pairing suggestions. VERDICT With treats for bakers of all levels, this warm-hearted collection will find a welcome place on baker's shelves.--William Varick, New York

Publishers Weekly Review

Great American Baking Show winner Lomas debuts with an inspiring collection that combines life lessons, family lore, and behind-the-scenes peeks at the reality show world with more than 100 indulgent recipes. In inviting prose, she recalls how she first learned to bake as a law student facing a tough job market before being cast in the third season of The Great American Baking Show. When the season was pulled off the air after a few episodes because of a #MeToo accusation against a judge, Lomas picked herself up and marched toward her goal of becoming a professional baker. She shares favorite recipes from her stint on the show, as well as bakes inspired by her native Louisiana and time spent in France, California, and New York. A cookie section features rich chocolate mint moon pies, while a chapter devoted to cakes is headlined by Lomas's grandma's Million Dollar Cake, featuring rich vanilla layers infused with crushed pineapple. Multiple food cultures receive a nod, sometimes in the same recipe; Zulu Babka adds a New York gloss to the traditional Mardi Gras king cake, and zesty lemon-honey madeleines pay homage to a summer trip to France. Meanwhile, helpful tips offer pointers on everything from making biscuits to "win a reality show." Aspiring baking champs need look no further. (Sept.)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Vallery Lomas is the winner of The Great American Baking Show and the first Black winner of the Great British Bake Off franchise. She hosts the digital show Vallery Bakes Your Questions on Food Network's website and the Food Network Kitchen app. She has also appeared on CNN, the Today show, Live with Kelly & Ryan, the History Channel, and the Hallmark Channel. Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Vallery attended college and law school in Los Angeles, practiced law in Washington D.C., and spent a gap year in Paris-where she perfected both her French and pastry skills-before settling in Harlem. She is a frequent columnist and recipe contributor to the New York Times .