Cake Wrecks Feature Kids' Books Cakes

The bakers behind Cake Wrecks, a blog featuring professional cakes gone “horribly, hilariously wrong” recently celebrated cakes inspired by children’s books. Among the gems are renditions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon. Andrews McMeel will publish Cake Wrecks in September.



Slate Checks Out International Cookbooks
Slate’s June 3 food issue included an article by Sara Dickerman about books by “writers who aim to bring another culture to life through recipes and observations.” Dickerman provided a run-down of some “intrepid” authors and their works, from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Asia) and Najmieh Batmanglij (Iran), to Darra Goldstein (Russia and Georgia), and, curiously, Melissa Guerra (Texas).


David Bouley Cooks for Tom Standage's New Book
Approximately 100 guests attended a dinner for Tom Standage’s new book, An Edible History of Humanity, at Bouley restaurant on May 28. Chef David Bouley’s menu was inspired by Standage’s book and included phyllo-crusted shrimp with ocean herbal broth; porcini flan with Dungeness crab; Long Island duck with Balinese pepper crust and white truffle honey; and coconut soup with passion fruit, pineapple granité and organic yogurt sorbet. Pictured here are Bouley and Standage.


Top Chef Masters Have Books to Sell
Former contestants of Bravo’s hit series Top Chef often draw huge crowds at events. There’s only one problem for publishers: none of them have written books. That’s about to change when Top Chef Masters premieres June 10. The series pits 24 well-established chefs against each other, using Top Chef’s typical format. The winning chef will receive $100,000 for the charity of their choice. And many of the contestants are authors. Considering that 3.6 million viewers watched the season finale of Top Chef earlier this year, there’s a big opportunity for cookbook publishers. Click here for the full contestant list.


Lee Bros. BEA Fiesta
The hottest ticket at BEA (for foodies, at least) was an “underground” after party called “Midnight Fried Chicken 2,” hosted by Matt and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern, which Clarkson Potter will publish in November. The May 29 event got underway at Housing Works Bookstore Café in New York around 10 P.M. and went until early morning. Among the nosh: fried chicken, boiled peanuts, Dogfish Head beers and Spanish wines. Pictured here are Ted Lee, New Yorker staff writer Lauren Collins, and Matt Lee (photo: Caroline Lee).