Congratulations Jane Ball!

Our 2003 Very Best Baker of the Year is a very active member of the Very Best Baking community, gathering more than 4500 Brownie Points in 2003! Jane Ball visits VeryBestBaking.com almost daily, browsing through our great recipes to find new treats to try.

Cooking is nothing new for her - Jane grew up in a kitchen-friendly family. Her mother cooked often, but it was her father who was in charge of pies! His pumpkin pies were famous and the best to be found anywhere in town. Her father has passed away, but Jane still bakes pies in his glass pie dish and thinks of him every time she uses it.

Jane is passing this baking tradition to her own daughter. For them, Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without getting together in Jane’s kitchen to bake up big batches of cookies and candy to share with friends and neighbors. It’s been 16 years since Jane’s daughter moved out on her own, but she still comes back every year for their holiday tradition!

The Very Best Baker of the Year award is Jane’s first large prize – and what a great first prize to have. Jane will make her first ever trip to Chicago with her daughter Veronica to take private pastry classes with Gale Gand! They’ll all get to use top-of-the-line Nordic Ware® (Gale’s preferred bakeware collection that is made in the USA) to make the delicious pastries that are Gale’s trademark! They’ll also get a personal tour of TRU restaurant and then have dinner there, courtesy of Very Best Baking! And don’t worry, all hotel accommodations and travel arrangements are also included.

Congratulations to Jane Ball (and her daughter Veronica). And good luck to all those earning Brownie Points for the 2004 Very Best Baker of the Year Sweepstakes!