First and foremost I wish to thank Gen. Without her, there would be no book.
I want to thank my husband, Detlef, whose support, hearty appetite, and encouragement never stopped.
I could not have done this without Sybille van Kempen, my daughter, who is always there with new ideas and who, during the busy summer months, keeps Loaves and Fishes on track. I would also like to thank the entire staff at Loaves and Fishes for their hard work and their unwavering commitment to quality and freshness.
A special thanks to all my loyal customers who, summer after summer, with their praise and gentle critiques, inspire me to come up with new and challenging ideas.
Thanks to our superb editor, Sydny Miner, my agent and friend, Alison Bond, the excellent creative team at Simon & Schuster, Alan Richardson, Jackie Seow, and Michael Pederson, and a special thanks to Alice Mayhew for believing in me.
Finally, a big hug and thanks to all my family for sharing my food while testing and retesting all the recipes and offering their honest critiques—nothing “sugar-coated” as my grandchildren would call it.