The Vintage Village Bake Off - Judy Leigh

 

Description

Now in his seventies, Robert Parkin is stunned to find himself the unlikely sex symbol of the village gardening club.

Living in happy solitude with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook, entertained by his mischievous chickens and goats, Robert has never figured out the rules of romance. But as the local ladies vie for his company, it soon becomes clear that Robert’s Victoria Sponge cake is the lure, and as his baking prowess grows, so does his confidence.

Cheesecakes, meringues, puddings, Robert can do it all, but his real masterpieces are his scones – ginger, rosemary, coconut, fruit, his recipes are inspired and soon come to the attention of the local media. Which county does the best cream tea – Devon or Cornwall? It’s time for an age-old debate to be settled with a competition.

Robert’s sisters Bunty and Hattie are both at crossroads in their lives, so news of their brother’s baking competition is the perfect excuse to bring them to Millbrook. And as the siblings relish each other’s company, and Robert relishes being at the heart of his community, a summer of scones may just light the way to long-lasting happiness for them all.

Review

I admit the title of this book and the author just had me wanting to read it. So I spent a good few pages wondering when the Bake Off was going to begin. I even began to think I had picked up the wrong book.

Once I settled into the story I was fine and put the Bake Off idea out of my head. Whilst this might on the surface appear to be a gentle tale there were a couple of characters who made my blood boil. Just as I was beginning to think all was well in the village there was a little incidence and I was brought back down to earth.

I loved the descriptions of the baking and the recipes - you might want to have eaten before reading! The characters were charming in the main and some even grew a backbone after decades of put downs. Eventually we got to the bake off and the deciding factor of who does have the best cream tea - Devon or Cornwall?

A delightful fun and witty read. I'm giving it four out of five stars.

My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review. This book is published on 4 December 2023.