Some days, the most creative act I indulge in is cooking meals for my family. Due to the infrequency of grocery shopping trips, often my meals are more creative than I’d like, but I enjoy the daily challenge. I’m one of those cooks who will improvise a recipe, adding ingredients that I have on hand, omitting those I don’t. I’m not exactly a “foodie,” but I love good food and the craft of cooking, which is why I jumped at the chance to receive a review copy of a memoir about cooking.

Dalia Jurgensen’s “Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really goes on in the Kitchen” (Penguin, $15) captivated me from its first pages as Jurgensen sheds her former life in the corporate world to follow a lifelong dream. Through the memoir, she tells tales of her experiences at New York’s famous Nobu, Veritas, La Cote Basque, Layla, Martha Stewart’s test kitchens, among others.
Just like our home kitchens, the front-end of restaurants can be familiar, comfortable places. Where Jurgensen and the other chefs hang out is less familiar–and, for the uninitiated, crosses into less cozy territory. Jurgensen, in an approachable style, invites readers into the world she knew intimately as a chef and consultant for more than a dozen years in top New York restaurants. As she takes readers along, she interjects quick facts, like a friend telling you a quick aside:
“With my sharpened chef knife (a sharp edge is absolutely imperative; you need to cut, not tear), I sliced each rectangle of fish on the bias with one smooth motion.”
Another interjection I enjoyed (until I really thought about it…) was:
“I tasted everything (tasting is the only way to really know if there’s enough salt; in fact, diners should hope that the cook’s fingers have been in everything they’re eating), adjusted the seasoning, styled the plates.”

Fortunately, Jurgensen’s style doesn’t let her reader wallow in events too long, which some may not like, wanting more details, more recipes, more, more more!
But as you read along and Jurgensen’s knowledge and skills build, a reader gets that sense and they become more palpable on each page. Her experiences dealing with the slings and arrows of the male-dominated kitchens crackle. From her early days in cooking school to her days moving to the top, designing amazing and creative desserts. Reading the descriptions of her chocolate mousse pyramids or pomegranate bombe and I wanted to eat the pages of the book–while expanding my understanding of recipe development and design.
Jurgensen takes us along–never lingering too long at one point or another (especially when describing her often awkward kitchen relationships).
Fortunately, in “Spiced,” Jurgensen concentrates on telling the story of how she followed a dream she had since childhood and recognizing her creative talents as a pastry chef. I’m not sure how a seasoned restaurateur might approach the memoir, but for the uninitiated, it was a light and delicate, as I imagine Jurgensen’s desserts must be.
“Spiced” is available wherever delicious books are sold. Also, visit Dalia Jurgensen’s Web site for more about this creative chef.

If you would like to receive a free paperback copy of “Spiced,” please tell me (in the comments section below): What is the most creative meal you have ever prepared or eaten? You will not be judged on your cooking skills or taste buds, but a winner will be selected by random.org and contacted via e-mail for a mailing address.
This giveaway ends 11:59 Eastern time, Thursday, April 15. One winner will be selected by random.org and results will be posted Friday, April 16.

The fine print: The fun people at Business2Blogger helped by introducing me to the fine folks at Berkley, who sent me the free book for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received. While the opinions in this review are mine, I trust you have your own. After all, we’re all different, right?

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