Louise Johncox comes from a long line of pastry chefs originating from Poschiavo on the Swiss Italian border. Growing up, Louise’s father worked as a baker and chocolatier in the family tea shop, Peter’s, from 1958 to 2000. Louise left the tea shop to train as a journalist and worked as a staff writer on The Times and as Assistant Editor on Sunday Times Style magazine. For four years, she wrote a monthly column in Surrey Life Magazine called On The Tea Shop Trail where she went in search of good quality tea shops and cafes. Louise has also written for The Sunday Times, The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian.
Louise’s books, The Baker’s Daughter, Timeless Recipes from Four Generations, with a Foreword by Albert Roux, and A Life Shaped by Cakes – The Memoir of The Baker’s Daughter were published in Spring 2014.
Louise is also a keen hiker who has blogged about her adventures and written about them for The Guardian. She has given numerous lectures on creative writing, food writing and journalism.
Buy it here.
Louise Johncox comes from a long line of bakers and confectioners. As a child she would sit on a flour tin at her father’s side and eat whatever was fresh from the oven – a hot bread roll or a fluffy piece of sponge – and when her father, a master baker, retired, Louise decided it was time to capture his wisdom and baking expertise, writing down his recipes for the first time and preserving his magical legacy for her children.
With a Foreword by Albert Roux, The Baker’s Daughter weaves Louise’s delightful childhood memories of life in her family tea shop with her father’s recipes, honed by over forty years of instinct and experience. From classic cream cakes and traditional buns, to celebration cakes, handcrafted chocolates and her father’s signature cream meringues, these recipes come laden with the sights, smells and warmth of the tea room and bakehouse.
Reviews
“An affectionate memoir that will both entertain with stories from a bygone world of tea and cakes and inspire people to bake” – Albert Roux
A LIFE SHAPED BY CAKES: THE MEMOIR OF THE BAKER’S DAUGHTER – Buy it here
A Life Shaped by Cakes shares family stories unravelled by Louise’s baking sessions with her father. Weaving in childhood memories of the family tea shop, Peter’s, with older events from her parents’ youth and a few of her father’s delicious recipes, this nostalgic memoir describes a life shaped by cakes.
PUBLISHER: Macmillan
KINDLE EDITION: 10th April 2014