What a perfect place to launch a mystery with recipes – Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks, a warm, welcoming cookbook store with a complete demonstration kitchen! About 40 people gathered there on October 13 to celebrate the launch of the first title in Ellen Schwartz’s Teaspoon Detectives series, The Case of the Missing Deed.
Ellen and her daughter, Merri Schwartz, a professional pastry chef, who had created the recipes that form an integral part of the story, had prepared Grandma’s Famous Pesto, Brown Sugar Spice Cake, and Chocolate Cinnamon Sparkle Cookies, all featured in the book, as snacks.
After Merri did a cooking demonstration on how to make the Sparkle Cookies, Ellen read a short scene in which two characters attempt to make the Spice Cake – only to have it explode in the oven.
Ellen signed lots of books, and guests commented on how much fun it was to have a cooking element as part of the book launch. Bon appetit!
What fun! And I love the idea of a kitchen in a book store.