Like British Baking Show? You’ll eat up Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame By Olivia Ford; Pamela Dorman

Do you know what an entremet is? Are you familiar with the concept of a proofing drawer? Do you fear the “soggy bottom”?

If you answered “yes,” there’s a good chance you’re a fan of The Great British Baking Show, which has made Bakewell tarts and choux pastry as familiar to its fans as Twinkies. It also means you will enjoy Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, in which a woman in her 70s competes on a show that is called Britain Bakes. While it has slightly different rules, the show is very much like British Baking Show, now on CBC Gem.

Author Olivia Ford is a veteran of British reality television and her first novel draws heavily on what she knows. Mrs. Quinn has convincing background info, including details of the audition process, how competitors prepare and the mechanics of filming.

For instance, after Jennifer Quinn and her fellow baketestants complete their first challenge (drizzle cakes), they are told to take a break for “pretties.” Make-up retouching? No, it’s about the real stars — the break allows the camera crew to get art-directed closeups of the most recent bakes.

If you love British Baking Show, you’ll eat that stuff up but, even if you don’t, you may respond to Jenny, a likable creation who never thought of herself as a real baker until she took a chance and entered the competition. Ford’s novel takes us through the weekly challenges — again, with contests focusing on biscuits/cookies or bread, they are similar to the real TV series — but also backtracks to show us Quinn falling in love with baking under her grandmother’s tutelage and using her oven as therapy to get over a traumatic event.

And the cherry on top? There are even a couple of recipes at the end of the book.