Sherry Yard is the executive pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck's empire, including Spago, Cut, and Chinois. Each year Sherry Yard desserts play a leading role at the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Emmy Awards. Sherry Yard was named Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2002. Sherry Yard won a James Beard Award for Best Baking Cookbook for her first book, The Secrets of Baking. Bon Appetit magazine and the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association have both named Sherry Yard Pastry Chef of the Year, and in 2004 the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs presented her with a Golden Bowl Award. Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills: Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever