Minnesota-born musician bakes — and Instagrams — his way through bestselling cookbook

Barrett Radziun has never been one to take the path most traveled.

Growing up in Cambridge, Minn., he first set his sights on being a scientist, then an eye doctor. But somewhere along the way, between the piano lessons that started in second grade and high school theater, what he thought was a hobby became his calling.

"I started taking voice lessons with a teacher in Andover, and she was the person who told me, 'You know, I think you could make a career out of this,' which I hadn't considered at all," Radziun said. "And so I did, and I never looked back."

So what led the performer and vocal professor to start baking his way through the bestselling cookbook "Dessert Person"? Chalk it up to the pandemic, a grandmother's influence and a timely viewing of the movie "Julie and Julia."

An early start

Radziun's foray into the kitchen started where many do, at Grandma's house. Mary Dahlgren lived close by, and was what Radziun calls a "fantastic cook and an amazing baker."

As a kid, the two would bake together, and he recalls her pulling out all the stops for the holidays. In true Minnesota fashion, a quick trip to the frigid garage could produce an epic cookie tray, with heritage recipes like hardtack cookies, spritz and krumkake to classics like fudge.

The other side of the family made sure the Polish traditions were upheld, greeting the family with poppy seed rolls, cream cheese rolls and cheesecake on their visits to Milwaukee.

"Both of my grandmothers were really big influences on me as a kid," he said. Which made losing them both during the pandemic a double blow.

As important as a grandma's influence was, cable television, notably the Food Network, was a game-changer.

"I was so infatuated by it," Radziun said. "I would watch Food Network every day when I got home from school, and before I would go to bed. I feel like I learned a ton about cooking and method."

The business of baking

While he was pursuing a master's degree at Bard College Conservatory of Music in New York, recitals and performances became a way of life for Radziun and his fellow students. With many required recitals came many receptions, often with refreshments while people mingled.

That's where Radziun — and his baking — come in.

"A friend of mine first asked me if I would be willing to make cupcakes or cookies for their recital," he said. "It went really well and people really liked it. So then more people started asking me, and it actually turned into a little side business."

The performing life brought him to Texas, where he earned a doctorate and now teaches. But the busier the musician was, the less baking he did — until March 2020, when everything changed.

"Literally overnight, an entire year of gigs were canceled," he said. "We didn't necessarily know it at the time, because we didn't know how long the pandemic was going to go on, but so much work was taken away."

All of the evenings spent performing and rehearsing were now free, and time spent teaching at Texas A&M University-Commerce was now spent at home, teaching virtually. In the pandemic's early days, when few ventured out, Radziun caught up on movies. One of those was "Julie and Julia," the 2009 Meryl Streep-Amy Adams drama about a woman cooking her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," blogging along the way.

"I don't know that I would say it's a favorite movie of mine, but I love the concept of it," he said. That was also around the time he discovered Bon Appetit's YouTube channel and his affinity for one of its stars, Claire Saffitz.

"Her personality and her methodical approach to cooking — almost like a scientific approach to cooking — really fascinated me," he said. "So when she decided to leave Bon Appetit I felt like everything that's good in the world was falling apart."

But there was a silver lining: Saffitz was publishing a cookbook, "Dessert Person." When Radziun got his hands on it in late 2020, he thought it would be "so cool" to bake his way through the book. And a challenge for 2021 was born.

The Tenor Chef

Of the 105 recipes in the book, Radziun has made 96. His schedule and the availability of ingredients dictates what's going in the oven.

He baked layer cakes around friends' birthdays, saved the Tomato Tart With Spicy and Herby Feta for late summer and waited until Texas peaches were in season to make the Peach Melba Tart. Pumpkin pie would come closer to Thanksgiving, and he tested a cranberry-pomegranate pie for the Christmas menu.

He quickly had the book memorized, recognizing recipe photos from other "Dessert Person" fans on Instagram. It wouldn't be long before he was posting his own pictures, and his efforts have struck a chord with the followers of his @thetenorchef Instagram account.

"I think part of the reason people have been interested is that because, just like when I found the Bon Appetit channel, it's beautiful and it feels really positive and uplifting," he said. "I hear from people and they'll say 'I just wanted to let you know that your posts have been a really bright spot in my life.' "

"I had no idea, just like Amy Adams in 'Julie and Julia,' " he said. "I felt like I was sending this out into the universe. But hearing how people have been enjoying it has been a really positive experience."

A life of baking lessons

One thing he's learned: "It's more reliable to go by weights of ingredients rather than measurements like cups or tablespoons for getting super accurate results. Which I never did because my grandma didn't — I don't think she ever had a food scale. She would tell me that I'm being way too fussy if I was measuring things in grams."

Only the best: "Get the highest quality of ingredients as you possibly can. My grandma once again would be like 'Don't be silly, there's no difference between butter that cost 99 cents and butter that cost $3.99.' But I would disagree with her."

By the book: Radziun is following Saffitz's recipes to the letter, with one exception — the ones with meat. He's a pescatarian. "It's part of the reason that I chose a dessert cookbook rather than a book like Julia Child's book or something with a lot of savory recipes."

New flavors: "It's been really cool because I've used ingredients that I've never used before and I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't doing this," he said. Example: the Spiced Persimmon Cake. "That surprised me — it was really delicious."

Sweet or savory baking? "I can't say that I prefer sweet or savory. But I can say that my two favorite recipes [Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies and Salty Nut Tart With Rosemary] are sweet recipes that also prominently feature salt. And so maybe that says that I do have a slightly more savory sweet tooth, and then just the sweet tooth."

Baking as therapy: "It's very relaxing for me to put on an apron and know that for a couple of hours, I'm going to focus on whatever it is that I'm baking. No one's gonna bother me. No one's going to come looking for me. I just know that I have the time to myself."

If he met author Claire Saffitz: "I have opinions about every single recipe that I've made. I have thought I would love to hear from her, from the person who wrote this, who spent years of her life shaping all of these recipes and getting them to their final stage. It would just be amazing."