Why a Bakery Tour?

Growing up in my house, you could always count on the following:  There would be cookies in the cookie tin, cake in the cake tin, and some sort of yummy square rotating through the “other” tin, all lovingly made by my mom (and all containing ridiculous amounts of butter). But it didn’t end there.  Mom could knock off a strawberry rhubarb pie, brandy snaps and a marzipan fruit plate all in one afternoon and make it seem easy.  How disappointing for me to learn that so many of these recipes, as it turns out, are not easy or quick to make – especially if you’re working a 9 – 5 schedule, which typically I am.

So since I don’t have a lot of time to make the things I’ve learned to love, I visit bakeries. To be clear, I visit bakeries OFTEN. Whenever I visit a new town or city, my first stop is always the local bakery – I just can’t help myself! Biscuits, pastries, tarts – if it’s made with butter and looks like it would be too tricky to make in my kitchen, I have to try it.

I started the baker tour while on maternity leave, as I couldn’t imagine when I’d have a better opportunity to do something like this. Turns out, there were just too many bakeries out there to visit in one year, so this has now become an ongoing project. It’s a tough life;) I’ll continue to share my experiences here, on my bakerytour blog.

Bon Appetit!