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Informationen zum Autor Lisa Peers Klappentext “Scrumptiously entertaining . . . Fans of a certain popular British baking show will be giddy with delight.”— Booklist When two women meet as judge and contestant on the set of a TV baking competition, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for the ultimate prize in this wholesome and delectable debut. LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST • A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Food is their love language, but can they follow a recipe for romance? Tori Moore, high school chemistry teacher, avid home baker, and soon-to-be empty nester, auditions for the American Bake-o-Rama TV competition at the urging of her twin teenagers. The prize money could allow her to finally open her own bakery, but plagued by self-doubt after a messy divorce, it’s not only money standing between Tori and her dreams. Once on set in Sonoma wine country, Tori catches the eye of Kendra Campbell, the notoriously ruthless celebrity chef and Bake-o-Rama judge. This show is Kendra’s ticket to financial security, but she’s been told to soften her approach for viewers seeking feel-good entertainment—quite the task after years of fighting for space in a male-dominated industry. Tori and Kendra find it increasingly hard to keep their distance through six slow-burn weeks of cooking challenges and kitchen disasters. For both, the best prize of all might just be love. Leseprobe I Tori Moore scanned her classroom, checking her fifth-period Biochemistry of Baking students’ progress. Three of Sequoia High’s star football players were pulverizing dry ice in a blender ahead of mixing it into their strawberry and chocolate bases to fast freeze the ice cream. Another team hovered around a saucepan, willing a cup of caramel sauce into existence out of white sugar, water, kosher salt, and immense patience. Some students were candying walnuts; others were making marshmallow fluff. A pair of ambitious sophomores were attempting to make a homegrown version of M&M’s. Each student had already written a term paper describing the chemical reactions and biodiversity that conjured the magic of dessert. At the end of today’s class—if all went well—they’d get to eat their homework. All that stood between them and summer vacation was making ice cream sundaes. With all the ingredients made from scratch. “Oh, sugar,” she heard one of the football players mutter as his blender stalled. Whenever Tori heard an outburst like that, she smiled. It meant that the fifteen teenagers, who could have easily spent the period gossiping or chucking chocolate chips at one another, were concentrating completely on their final exam. It also meant her students respected her enough to follow her rules; namely, that when they got stuck, literally or figuratively, they could swear as loudly as they wanted as long as they used baking terms. Her personal favorites from this semester’s class were Lamination! and Choux! Crouching down to use the classroom’s paper towel dispenser as a mirror, Tori took a minute to freshen up. She adjusted the green-and-gold paisley scarf she’d received as a present from a student last Christmas, which she wore often because it amplified her hazel eyes, and corralled her thick hair into a ponytail, making a mental note to book a cut and color appointment since the gray hairs were infiltrating the strawberry blonde again. She also confirmed that she didn’t have cocoa powder mixed in with the freckles across the bridge of her nose. Standing back up, she brushed a smudge of brown sugar off her hip and turned her attention to her students. “Ten minutes, folks!” Tori’s co-teacher, Della DeMarco, warned the students. Her update was met by a chorus of groans and barked orders to fellow teammates. “Dude, we need more CO2. The strawberry ice cream i...
About the author
Lisa Peers
