The holiday season separates a culinary all-stars from the amateur, and one woman who will help

you raise your cooking game is Chef Valerie Lomas.

When I was starting out my career, I was kind of warned by other women, don't bring baked

goods into the office because it's very important for you to be seen and respected, like outside

of like, you know, these traditional gender roles of like being the black woman that's bringing

cookies for everyone every week.

Valerie Lomas on holiday cooking and her new book Life is What You Bake It, coming up on a word.

With me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

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Welcome to a word, a podcast about race, impolitics, and everything else. I'm your host Jason

Johnson. It's the holiday season, a time for all the amateur cooks in your family and friend

circles to show off. Maybe you are the person who clocks out of your nine to five at a bank or

a hospital or a law firm to throw down in the kitchen. Valerie Lomas was that person years ago,

practicing law in New York City, until she partly had her love of food and skill in social media

into reality shows start them as a chef. Lomas won the third season of the Great American Baking Show,

and she has just released her debut cookbook Life is What You Bake It, and she joins us now.

Hi, Jason. Thanks so much for having me. I am really excited because I'm not like a great cook.

So I want to start with this. I imagine it's kind of hard to choose. What's your favorite

recipe from this book that just debuted? So I would say my favorite dessert from the book is one

...