It seems to be high summer for the moment here in Devon. Yesterday, I walked with the children along the seafront at Budleigh Salterton, stopping for an ice-cream and a brief visit to a charity shop. There, on the shelves among the usual collection of weight-loss and “how to” guides, I found an old copy of The Art of Fine Baking by Paula Peck. Originally published in 1961, this copy (soon to become ‘my’ edition) dates from 1966. I have to confess that I’d never heard of Paula Peck before then – I was simply attracted by the book’s wide range of recipes for all kinds of cakes, pastries, cookies, breads, frostings and petits fours secs … including a recipe for Chocolate Brownies.
An article by Mark Bittman in the NY Times extols the virtues of this recipe for “a true and beautiful brownie”. On the subject of Paula Peck herself however, I can find surprisingly little.
Others before me have struggled to find out about Paula Peck. Cookie Jill describes her search for information after finding her copy of the book at a local library sale. She at least appears to have had the advantage of a book flap, where James Beard has written:
“Her enthusiam for the work table and range is refreshing. Her way to combat fatigue and worry is to get into the kitchen and turn out a hundred or so croissants or two or three batches of puff paste with all embellisments. She is an outstanding juggler with rolling pin and mixing bowl, and the magic results fill her larder and freezer to overflowing. Her home is an oasis for hungry traveleers and guests, for there is always enough delectable food in her kitchen to serve a good-sized party.”
I certainly like Paula Peck’s philosophy!
Helen McLoughlin, a contemporary and apparent neighbour, confirms James Beard’s glowing recommendation in an endnote to My Nameday: Come for Dessert, a curious book written in 1962 on the celebration of namedays:
“This recipe is from our favorite cookbook, “The Art of Fine Baking (pub. by Simon and Schuster) by Paula Peck, who has contributed recipes to, and has had her pastries photographed for “The New York Times” and “Life,” and has taught at the James Beard Cooking School. Her kitchen next door fills us with joy at the whiff of the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread, and makes us nostalgic for the magic days of childhood when mother or grandmother made wonderful cake at home.”
Now I’m expecting great things from Peck’s brownie recipe. It must come close to being an original …
amerrierworld.com 
Megan Peck
/ November 26, 2007My name is Megan Paula Peck and I am the grandaughter of Paula Peck. I enjoyed reading your posting regarding my grandmother and her brownies. Although I wasn’t able to know her personally (she passed away fairly young -before I was born) I know quite a bit about her.
Paula Peck lived in New York City with her husband (Jim Peck, Civil Rights Activist) and her two sons. She learned to cook through classes and soon became somewhat of an apprentice to James Beard. She was well established in the food world in the 1960’s and helped start the career of Sally Dar who later became the Editor for Gourmet magazine and owned restaurant La Tulipe in NYC, where Sarah Moulton (of the Food Network) began her career.
Paula Peck was the author of two cookbooks: The Art of Fine Baking and The Art of Good Cooking. The second of which was less popular and although outdated contains some very good recipes (omit the msg – it was a new trend back then).
If you would like any more information, please let me know.
Thanks again for the great post.
amerrierworld
/ November 27, 2007How lovely to hear from you, Megan! Thank you for the extra details about your grandmother – her brownie recipe is certainly my favourite. I made some of these brownies for my daughter’s 5th birthday and her friends thought they were wonderful too.