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Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker

by Gesine Bullock-prado

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker Cover

ISBN13: 9780767932684
ISBN10: 0767932684
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A former Hollywood insider trades the Hollywood Hills for Green Acresand lives to tell about it in this hilarious, poignant treat of a memoir.

As head of her celebrity sisters production company, Gesine Bullock-Prado had a closet full of designer clothes and the ear of all the influential studio heads, but she was miserable. The only solace she found was in her secret hobby: baking. With every sugary, buttery confection to emerge from her oven, Gesine took one step away from her glittery, empty existenceand one step closer to her true destiny. Before long, she and her husband left the trappings of their Hollywood lifestyle behind, ending up in Vermont, where they started the gem known as Gesine Confectionary. And they never looked back. Confections of a Closet Master Baker follows Gesine's journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider to reluctant master baker. Chock-full of eccentric characters, beautifully detailed descriptions of her baking process, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and recipes, the ingredients of her story will appeal to anyone who has ever considered leaving the life they know and completely starting over.

Review:

"In this terrifically lively account chockfull of elegant, Old World recipes, Bullock-Prado, a former Hollywood film developer and sister to actress Sandra Bullock, recounts the joys and heartbreaks of running her own patisserie in Montpelier, Vt. Having fled the 'soul-sucking' routine in Los Angeles with her husband, Ray, for the simpler pleasures of a small town near the Green Mountains, the author opened her own bake shop, Gesine Confectionary, in 2004, mostly on the fame of the macaroons she refashioned from her German mother's favorite almond treat, mandelhoernchen (and the casual mention in an interview her sister did for In Style). Although a law school graduate, Bullock-Prado always relished 'playing with sugar, butter, and flour' and concocts an affectionate homage to her mother, who recently died from colon cancer, and grandmother. Her memoir follows one day in a busy baker's life, from waking at three a.m. to prepare the batter (croissants, scones, sticky buns) and bake before opening shop at seven; through the hectic lunch (focaccia); and the three p.m. tea time. In subtly compelling prose, the master baker conveys her touching sense of responsibility for the 'emotional needs of [her] patrons,' and offers mouthwatering recipes. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

The author chronicles her journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider to reluctant master baker. Eccentric characters, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and recipes create a hilarious, poignant treat of a memoir.

About the Author

GESINE BULLOCK-PRADOs delicious confections have been featured on the Food Network's hottest new show, Road Tasted with the Neelys and in such publications as In Style, People, Vermont Life, and Boston Common. Gesine still lives in Vermont and is preparing to open another bakery in Austin, Texas.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

Denise Morland, October 28, 2009 (view all comments by Denise Morland)
This is Gesine Bullock-Prado's memoir of leaving the rat race in Hollywood to open a bakery in Vermont. It comes complete with the usual funny mishaps and quirky characters. I think what I liked best about this book is Gesine herself. Far from the fat, jolly baker, she is impatient, caustic and sometimes not too sure she actually likes people all that much. What she does like is baking. She lives and breathes it, obsessing over the perfect cherry pie or macaroon. Opening a bakery she learns she can love people from afar with her beautiful pastries.

I really love that Gesine is not the typical baker. Somehow her tart personality perfectly balances out all the sweetness of the book. The recipes recipes, like Espresso Cheesecake and Raspberry Meringues are creative yet accessible to the home cook.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(6 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780767932684
Author:
Bullock-prado, Gesine
Publisher:
Broadway Books
Illustrator:
Prado, Raymond G.
Author:
Bullock-Prado, Gesine
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Baking
Subject:
Biography - General
Publication Date:
20090931
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
226
Dimensions:
8.46x5.80x.94 in. .83 lbs.

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Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$24.00 In Stock
Product details 226 pages Broadway Books - English 9780767932684 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In this terrifically lively account chockfull of elegant, Old World recipes, Bullock-Prado, a former Hollywood film developer and sister to actress Sandra Bullock, recounts the joys and heartbreaks of running her own patisserie in Montpelier, Vt. Having fled the 'soul-sucking' routine in Los Angeles with her husband, Ray, for the simpler pleasures of a small town near the Green Mountains, the author opened her own bake shop, Gesine Confectionary, in 2004, mostly on the fame of the macaroons she refashioned from her German mother's favorite almond treat, mandelhoernchen (and the casual mention in an interview her sister did for In Style). Although a law school graduate, Bullock-Prado always relished 'playing with sugar, butter, and flour' and concocts an affectionate homage to her mother, who recently died from colon cancer, and grandmother. Her memoir follows one day in a busy baker's life, from waking at three a.m. to prepare the batter (croissants, scones, sticky buns) and bake before opening shop at seven; through the hectic lunch (focaccia); and the three p.m. tea time. In subtly compelling prose, the master baker conveys her touching sense of responsibility for the 'emotional needs of [her] patrons,' and offers mouthwatering recipes. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , The author chronicles her journey from sugar-obsessed child to miserable, awkward Hollywood insider to reluctant master baker. Eccentric characters, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and recipes create a hilarious, poignant treat of a memoir.
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