Society & Culture
What do award-winning cookbook author Rick Bayless , Food Network Iron Chef Bobby Flay, nationally acclaimed pastry chef Gale Gand , and Chloe, my granddaughter, have in common? They all began their culinary education by slaving over a hot light bulb. Chloe, just like those three celebrity chefs when they were youngsters, has been the recipient of an Easy-Bake oven, which, famously, can produce cakes, cookies, pies, and other goodies using only the heat generated by an ordinary 100-watt incandescent bulb. Over the last four decades literally tens of millions of kids have been turned on to cooking by an Easy-Bake oven. Its manufacturer says it is the best-selling girl’s toy since dolls, though, judging by the number of male chefs who once owned one, the Easy-Bake also appeals to boys. It all started in 1963 when Norman Shapiro, the New York sales manager for Kenner Products (now a division of Hasbro), intrigued by the city’s pretzel vendors, suggested the company create a miniature