Cookin’ up a storm

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

Entrepreneur and cookbook author Kyla Pierik has had a busy week.

In fact, since the launch of her “Treasured Recipes from Home” collection this time last year, the author reports she has been going full tilt and “has met with more success than (she) could ever have imagined.”

After being picked up by a national distributor, Pierik’s self-published and self-distributed local cookbook, which focuses on preparing home-cooked meals with local ingredients, is now positioned to hit the Canadian bestseller list this fall. Aside from her own established distribution network of over 70 stores, the book is now being distributed by the South Shore’s Glen Margaret Publishing . “It’s a huge step for something that I didn’t think would get past Windermere,” said Pierik prior to this week’s publicity tour, which included appearances at a luncheon hosted by the Central Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce, on Breakfast Television, an interview with CBC Information Morning and Nova Scotia’s provincial newspaper. Book signings and other speaking engagements are also planned in the coming weeks.

Her latest distribution deal will mean the book will have “a lot more exposure to the big boys like Chapters and Coles,” and Pierik anticipates this will only push its sales beyond “anything she ever envisioned.”

Pierik currently operates Apple Berry Farm Market in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. The year-round market offers fresh fruit and vegetables, a gift shop, garden centre and a scratch bakery. She says her cookbook, with over 160 favorite recipes with interesting tips, fun stories and over 60 colour photos; has become a wonderful “value added” product at her farm market. “Simple ingredients and local products are an important part of the collection and, at this time of year especially, we are fortunate to have a wonderful, wide selection of these kinds of food items,” saysPierik.

A child of busy farming parents, Pierik has wonderful memories of cooking and baking with her family while growing up. She thinks sharing these memories is part of the reason her recipe collection has met with such success. “Everyone has cherished family recipes. While someone who buys my book might not know my Aunt Wilma or her signature recipe, they have their own relative experience that brings back their own good memories.”

Pierik says her regular drives between her Windermere home and Bridgewater business have given her lots of time to think about her next project, a second cookbook featuring recipes “from the pumpkin patch. “My first cookbook started more as a personal project for me and I certainly didn’t expect this outcome,” says Pierik, who admits the response has generated “real excitement” about her upcoming publication.