Local author Jamie Baker has captivated Santa Ynez Valley residents for two years through a playful ruse: an Instagram account promoting “The Pretentious Boar & Ale House,” a restaurant that exists only within the pages of his new novel, You Ate It.
Baker, a longtime Solvang resident and writer, crafted the fictional eatery as a central setting in his debut novel. The story follows Michael, a 15-year-old boy whose groundbreaking idea propels him to Silicon Valley success — complete with a corner office and a near-billion-dollar bank account.
However, tragedy strikes when Michael, now 27, is affected by a school shooting that changes his life’s trajectory. Abandoning the tech world, he reinvents himself as a chef, opening his own restaurant, The Pretentious Boar & Ale House, on California’s Central Coast.
“The food is incredible, and the characters there are even better,” Baker said, describing the novel’s vivid setting and personalities.
Baker credits a real restaurant, Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos, as a vital source of inspiration and motivation during the writing process. To reward himself for meeting his weekly writing goal of 10,000 words, Baker treated himself to Sunday dinners at the eatery.
“The Flatbread was especially important to me because dining there helped me overcome a 20-year writer’s block,” he shared.
Two of the book’s characters are inspired by Full of Life Flatbread’s owners, chefs Clark Staub and Jill Davie. “Clark communicates through his food — each menu tells a story,” Baker said. “My characters are real — at least to me.”
You Ate It will be available for purchase at Solvang’s The Book Loft starting Sunday, with a book signing scheduled for Memorial Day, Monday, May 26. Baker is also holding additional signings: Sunday’s pop-up dinner at Full of Life Flatbread features a collaboration inspired by his fictional restaurant; Tuesday, May 28 at Eye on I in Lompoc; and Saturday, May 31 at Saarloos & Sons Winery in Los Olivos.
Baker encourages local readers to support independent bookstores by purchasing directly from The Book Loft, where the book will retail for $18.95.
Baker’s journey to publishing this novel was shaped by personal challenges. Since moving to the Santa Ynez Valley in 2011 with his wife, Devra Robin, and their three children, he has balanced life as a business owner, a mayoral candidate, and a cancer survivor. The pandemic and his health struggles provided unexpected motivation to return to writing.
“With COVID and then cancer, I had no excuse not to go back to writing,” he said. “All my excuses fell apart.”
You Ate It weaves themes of love, genius, personal transformation, and tragedy, including a school shooting, while reflecting Baker’s own experiences as a father and entrepreneur.
Baker, who previously wrote plays and musicals in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles, describes writing novels as a quieter, more solitary pursuit. To foster community around reading, he plans to organize “Reading Rhythms” — group reading events paired with wine tasting — and hopes to set a world record for the largest simultaneous reading of the same book.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Baker studied acting at Santa Maria’s Pacific Conservatory Theatre during his early visits to California. Now firmly rooted in the Santa Ynez Valley, he continues to enrich the local cultural scene.
Community Spotlight: Chefs Unite for Childhood Cancer Benefit Dinner
On May 2, Buellton’s Hitching Post 2 hosted a special dinner honoring the 20th anniversary of Sideways and benefiting L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade, an organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer.
The event featured celebrated chefs including Full of Life Flatbread’s Jill Davie and Clark Staub, barbecue expert Aaron Franklin from Austin, Texas, and others from local establishments such as Bob’s Well Bread and The Lark.
Guests enjoyed curated wines from Hitching Post, Foxen Vineyard & Winery, Au Bon Climat, Alma Rosa Winery, and Fess Parker Winery.
