Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Dalia Jurgensen quit her publishing job to attend culinary school. Given a choice between sweet and savory, she chose savory; but, in the end, the sweet chose her. With zero experience, Jurgensen managed to score a huge feather in her cap right out of the gate—assistant pastry chef at Nobu.

On her first night of trailing, Jurgensen calmly watched as each delectable dessert was plated at a frenetic pace and concluded that this was the place for her.

After a few years with Nobu, it was time for a change and Jurgensen was offered a position at Nobu's sister restaurant, Layla, where she met Chef Joey who would become a major player in her life, both privately and professionally; allowing Jurgensen to utilize her savory skills and eventually come into her own as a noted pastry chef.

With a few detours along the way, including working in Martha Stewart’s test kitchen and catering halls where she recovered from burn-out due to the frantic pace and grueling hours, Jurgensen managed to make a name for herself at the opposite end of the culinary spectrum from where she started.

Told in an easy-flowing voice, Jurgensen deftly relates the frenzied and often chaotic pace of the kitchen, her struggle to gain the respect of those working the hot end of the kitchen, as well as the outlandish and crazy things that happen behind closed kitchen doors and quitting time.

Spiced is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for those who have worked in the restaurant industry, an after-hours war-story for those that still do and an entertaining look behind the culinary curtain for everybody else.
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Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Penguin Group (April 6, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0425232521