Spiced: Review and Giveaway

Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trails by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and WhatReally Goes on in the Kitchen
This is the first giveaway I had the privilege of posting on this blog and I'm kinda excited. Plus the book didn't suck which is always a bonus.Non-fiction but not stuffy.

Clicking on the book's image will take you to Amazon, so you can read what others had to say. 

My Review: Between Food Network, Ace of Cakes, Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey and so many more I could spend this entire post listing them all, America is in enamored with the creators of beautiful works of art that only last as long as a meal.

All Dalia Jurgensen  ever wanted was to do was cook.

"At five,  I stood on a chair at the counter next to my mother, shaping frikadeller and peeling potatoes for bikser mad. For desert, she showed me how to sprinkle bread crumbs, toasted with butter to a deep brown, in a fat layer over the apples she'd cooked down the night before." 

In her mid-twenties, stuck in a Corporate job she no longer could tolerate, Dalia interviewed with the famous New York restaurant Nobu and enrolled in cooking school. With the support of her parents she embarked on a brand new life.

Follow Dalia as she moves from a lowly internship to a position as a slightly less lowly pastry cook to an acclaimed executive pastry chef at a three-star New York City restaurant. This book is chock full of kitchen drama and tid-bits only an insider could possibly share, particularily a woman in a male dominated field.

Unlike most personal memoirs Spice is far from dry- she spares no juicy details. From descriptions of the food (don't read this hungry or dieting) to her many screw-ups, romantic hook-ups, and kitchen antics, it's a wonder your food even ends up on your plate in front of you.

My first job was in the kitchen at a major golf course. I was a timid little thing, so I think the Chef felt sorry for me. He only yelled at me when he absolutely had to. But I learned quickly to keep my mouth shut during service. Reading Spiced brought back  memories of an awesome time in my life.

Worthwhile read- per LiLu's suggestion- I give this a rating of I would still read this even if I had to jump out of a plane.

Giveaway
One of my readers will receive a copy of Spiced.

To Enter: To enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment answering the question...What's your passion? If money weren't an issue what's your dream job?

Bonus Entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog by email/RSS.
2. Follow my blog.
3. Blog about the giveaway and leave me the link.
4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet the giveaway.- I entered the

Leave a comment for each one you do- you have to complete the first or all of the bonus entries won't count! 5 ways to win! Winner will be choosen by Randon Number Generator.

Giveaway ends on April 10, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST. Winner will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Please remember to leave your email address if it is not attached to your profile so I can contact you if you win. Good luck!

Disclaimer: Berkley/NAL Publicity provided me with the book for editorial purposes. All reviews on zoereads.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.

45 comments:

VaBookworm87 said...

My dream job would be working as an Egyptologist alongside Dr. Zahi Hawass in Egypt :o)

VaBookworm87 said...

I follow your blog!

Anonymous said...

Being a lawyer...even if i didn't get money for this, I'd love to be one!

I follow your blog

Anonymous said...

My passion has been to follow pandemics for the past 7 years. I know that sounds unusual, but I have learned alot about many things.
debp
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I am a email subscriber.
debp
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

An underwater treasure hunter.

blackbearpie@aol.com

Aisling said...

I'd love to be a professional traveler for fun and profit. There are so many places to go and see and investigate.

Aisling said...

I follow via Google Friend Connect.

ezmerelda said...

I would love to read for a living.

Amber said...

Travel is my passion and if money were not an issue I would want to be a travel writer!
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber said...

I follow your blog with google friend connect!
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

I am a subscriber

rugerpuppies at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

Google Friend follower

rugerpuppies at hotmail dot com

J. Cannon said...

My dream job is to become a pastry chief and open my own catering/bakery.
jackieque@comcast.net

Deborah said...

I love exploring culture thru food, so if I could, I'd be a cultural anthropologist specializing in food culture.

Deborah said...

I'm following with Google Friend Connect.

Anonymous said...

I currently grow spices! i love finding new ways to use them!
cinnamons213@yahoo.com

5webs said...

My passion is Whole Foods. If money was not an option, I'd love to be a stockgirl or cashier at Whole Foods.
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net

5webs said...

I subscribe via E-mail
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net

5webs said...

I follow your blog via GFC (5webs)
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net

5webs said...

I follow you on Twitter(5webs) and I Tweeted this giveaway
http://twitter.com/5webs/status/11661459146
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net

Emmy T said...

I would love to read for a living. My wishlist of books to be read is to big for someone that spends 40 hours a week doing something else.

Joannie said...

My dream job would be a teacher in an orphanage I visited near Capetown, South Africa (and to have Oprah fund the orphanage so that these children of AIDS victims could
have opportunities to do great things with their lives.)
hi_joan_elliott at hotmail dot com

Valerie Taylor Mabrey said...

I would love to be a person who designs games for survivor or shows like that.

Colengal said...

I think it would be great to work for the National Parks, or in Historical Preservation.

Anonymous said...

dream job would be to be a photographer for national geographic. sent all around the world to take pictures! love it!

mrsfarns07 at hotmail dot com

Jenn S. said...

I would love to be a museum curator.

Kim (Randominities) said...

I am living my dream job!

I know it may sound lame to someone not in the field, but I love being a Pediatric Physical Therapist Assistant.

I have wanted to be a Physical Therapist Assistant since I was 20 years old.

But I got married and w/child early and had to postpone, but I am glad to say it was worth the wait!

Lisa R said...

comedian ....I love to see people laugh
sibabe64 at ptd dot net

Lisa R said...

email subscriber

sibabe64 at ptd dot net

Lisa R said...

google friend

sibabe64 at ptd dot net

Anonymous said...

My dream job is to open my own faux finishing business. Thanks.

president(dot)peaches(at)hotmail(dot)com

Melissa B. said...

I would love to be a writer.

Amanda S. said...

I would love to move to NYC and become a Broadway show critic!

PamelaJD said...

Art is my passion.
My dream job would to be a curator at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

fancyfeet48 said...

i live my dream job I massage feet

fancyfeet48 said...

I follow your blog using google friend connect
fancyfeet45@earthlink.net

Ashley said...

Ever since I was little I wanted to be a zookeeper or a dolphin trainer.

hewella1@gmail.com

cman said...

To own my own restaurant.

Jinxy and Me said...

I love to travel and my dream job would be a travel writer!

Jinxy and Me said...

I'm following your blog in Google Friend Connect.

Jinxy and Me said...

I'm subscribed to your RSS feed in my Google Reader.

Sand said...

I would love to travel around the world working for non-profit organizations in every continent.

Honestly one of my biggest dreams is to create an international organization for skin disorders.

If only I had a generous sponsor!

lilyk said...

My passion is to try out new foods. If money weren't an issue my dream job would be a restaurant critic.

lilyk said...

I subscribed by email.

 

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