Synopses & Reviews
Sunya Malhotra, a young American woman whose parents had migrated from India, is the head baker and owner of Pastries, a warm and cozy bakery in Seattle. Sunya loves baking and has transformed her fabulous cakes and tarts into delicious works of art. The success of her beloved bakery is put in jeopardy, however, when a chain bakery threatens to open up down the street from her. To add to her misery, Roger, her hip, Japanese boyfriend has left her for a "perfect" Japanese girlfriend and her mother has just become engaged to a man Sunya detests. Sunya hasn't yet reconciled to the mystery of a father missing since her birth. Even a new relationship with a hot, young film director who is in town to cover the 1999 World Trade Conference, can't help Sunya with her biggest worry - she has lost her touch for baking.
Overwhelmed, Sunya is surprised to find herself listening when her new Japanese baker offers her a solution to her problems - enroll in a baking school in Japan! Of course, this isn't just any baking school. It is run by a famous Japanese baker, Mori Matsumoto, and is based on the principle of mindfulness. Soon Sunya finds herself learning the basic skills of baking all over again. Is this what she needs to rediscover herself? Will she recapture her zest for work and life?
Review
"The best of Pastries is the frantic life behind the serene scenes in the cafe and the menu." The Detroit Free Press
Review
"There's a sweetness to the bakery's singular desserts; while in the end, Kirchner's characters receive their just desserts." Seattle Weekly
Review
"Seattle, a town where food is taken very seriously, is the perfect backdrop for a pastry war." LA Times
Review
"Kirchner deftly weaves an intricate tangle and then gradually unties the knots toward the end, much like a Bollywood blockbuster." The San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Kirchner deftly weaves an intricate tangle and then gradually unties the knots toward the end, much like a Bollywood blockbuster."
- The San Francisco Chronicle
"The best of Pastries is the frantic life behind the serene scenes in the cafe and the menu. Brown-butter nectarine layer cake. Mango cheesecake. Creme brulee drizzled with persimmon coulis - Ok, you're drooling."
- The Detroit Free Press
"There's a sweetness to the bakery's singular desserts; while in the end, Kirchner's characters receive their just desserts."
- Seattle Weekly
"Seattle, a town where food is taken very seriously, is the perfect backdrop for a pastry war."
- LA Times
Synopsis
A talented pastry chef rediscovers her love for life in this delicious novel from the acclaimed author of "Darjeeling." Sunya is the troubled head baker and owner of Pastries in Seattle. When Sunya discovers a baking school in Japan that helps people reconnect to baking and to their spiritual selves, she feels that this just might be the answer to her problems.
Synopsis
Sunya, a young, Indian woman, is the head baker and owner of Pastries, a warm and comfortable bakery in Seattle. Sunya loves baking and has transformed her fabulous cakes and tarts into delicious works of art. The success of her beloved bakery is put in jeopardy, however, when a chain bakery threatens to open up down the street from her. To add to her misery, Roger, her hip, Japanese boyfriend, has left her for a "perfect" Japanese girlfriend and her mother has just become engaged to a man Sunya detests. All of this misery pales in signigicance next to her main worry - she has lost her touch for baking.
When a new baker at Pastries tells Sunya about a baking school in Japan that helps people with their baking skills and helps them to center themselves spiritually through a form of Buddism, Sunya feels that this just might be the answer to her problems.
Synopsis
A talented pastry chef rediscovers her love for life in this delicious novel from the acclaimed author of
DarjeelingAbout the Author
Born in India,
Bharti Kirchner worked as a systems software engineer for many years before becoming a prize-winning cookbook author. She is also the author of three acclaimed novels, including
Darjeeling. Kirchner lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband.