RANDY SHAMLIAN

Randy Shamlian’s baking journey began in the late 1970s as a pastry assistant at a French restaurant in La Jolla, California. Along the way, he studied baking and food service management, and went on to bake at several fine restaurants before founding his own wholesale cake company—a venture he successfully ran and later sold after ten years.

Seeking new inspiration, Randy attended the University of Massachusetts and worked as a baker at Amherst College. His return to professional kitchens led him to The Elms Restaurant and Tavern, where he discovered what he calls “the essence of real baking.” Under the mentorship of Chef Brendan Walsh, he refined his craft, committing five years to the art and winning multiple apple pie contests along the way. Randy’s journey eventually led him west to Montana and later to New Mexico, where he has lived for the past two decades. There, he continued to bake professionally—creating hand-crafted

pies and specialty baked goods for local growers markets, always guided by his philosophy of simplicity, patience, and respect for the ingredients.

He is the author of A Slice of Apple Pie, a culinary memoir drawn from his life in baking, and A Murder in the Kitchen, a fiction series inspired by his experiences in the restaurant world. His latest work, Contemplation and the Art of Baking, blends craft, philosophy, and reflection—a meditation on the timeless art of baking and the joy of creation itself.

Editorial Reviews

Raw, engaging, and illuminating R. Shamlian's memoir, A Slice of Apple Pie, impresses upon you his keen sensibilities as man and artist. He tantalizes your taste buds with detail of the oral gratification he perfected over his 30+ years as a pastry chef and shares his passion for music, food, friends and family-in fact, were it not for the passion evident in his writing, this memoir might have been of a Picaro with a bent for manipulating the palate. R. Shamlian admits the perplexities of romance and even hands over his award-winning apple pie recipe all with a sense of a great sense of humor and irony. Read this book! - Albuquerque Review