Cheryl Day (born 1961) is a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, who is owner of Back in the Day Bakery and co-founder of Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice. She is the author of two best-selling cookbooks, written with her husband Griff Day. In 2015 she was a semi-finalist

James Beard Awards The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

in the category of Outstanding Baker.

Biography

Day was born in 1961. Her great-great-grandmother, Hannah Queen Grubbs, was an enslaved pastry chef noted for her baking, especially her pies and her frostings. This connection Day said, makes her work feel "more important somehow". Her grandmother taught her to bake, during the summers that Day spent staying with her in Alabama. She founded Back in the Day Bakery in 2002, and as of 2020 co-ran the business with her husband, Griff. Day and her husband have co-written two best-selling cookbooks. The first book was entitled ''The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook,'' which was published in 2012 and was a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

best-seller. The second book ''Bake in the Day Bakery Made with Love'' was published in 2015 and records some of the most popular recipes made at the bakery, such as Alabama Lane Cake, Coca-Cola Cake and caramel cake. In 2015 Day was a semi-finalist in the

in the category of Outstanding Baker. In 2016 Cathy Barrow, writing for the Washington Post, described Day's buttermilk biscuit as the best in Savannah. Day's biscuits are made in their hundreds by hand, every day. In March 2020 Back in the Day Bakery was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however it re-opened in June 2020 providing a walk-up services, as well as nationwide delivery for certain baked goods. In July 2020, Back in the Day Bakery was a recipient of a $25,000 prize donated by

Discover Card Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched, Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the e ...

, to support black-owned business. She is a co-founder of Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ), along with Lisa Marie Donovan and Sarah O’Brien, an organisation which advocates for workers of colour in the food industry.

Publications

* ''The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook'' (Artisan Books, 2012) * ''Made with Love'' (Artisan Books, 2015) * ''Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking'' (Artisan Books 2021)

References

External links

Cheryl Day in conversation with Julia Turshen: CHERYL DAY'S TREASURY OF SOUTHERN BAKING
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Cheryl 1961 births American women chefs American bakers People from Savannah, Georgia James Beard Foundation Award winners Living people