Called "a destination ... worth putting miles on the odometer" by The New York Times, Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, NY prides itself on providing simple, all-American desserts. For Kathleen King, founder and owner of the nationally-acclaimed bakery, homespun Americana just comes naturally. When the magazine "Every Day with Rachael Ray" set out to find America's best-tasting chocolate chip cookie, they singled out Tate's Bake Shop's deliciously natural, caramel-tinged signature cookie as the best of the best. How Kathleen King came to set her treats apart from the rest is a testament to Kathleen's stick-to-itiveness and down-home authenticity.Named after her father, Tate King, Tate's Bake Shop is a widely recognized brand, sold in key gourmet retail stores across the country; but simple, down-home Americana is at the heart of Tate's. "It's easy for me to do," Kathleen says, "because that's who I am." Born and raised on Southampton's North Sea Farm, Kathleen has always been self-sufficient. At age eleven, hoping to make enough money to buy her own school clothes, she sold small batches of her chocolate chip cookies to the neighbors from a fold-out card table on her parents' farmstead. Meticulously baked by hand using the freshest ingredients including real butter, the all-natural chocolate chip cookie was a neighborhood sensation. Soon Kathleen was selling more cookies than her father was selling eggs.By the time she was in high school, King was baking 12-hours a day, perfecting her recipes and making a name for herself within the fashionable communities on the South Fork of Long Island. Kathleen's baking put her through college, and as the demand for her cookies kept growing, she moved her business out of her family's kitchen and opened her own bakery at age 20. King then launched a wholesale business, selling her cookies to specialty and gourmet shops in Manhattan, including the legendary Balducci's Market.Nearly three decades later, Kathleen King continues to raise the bar in the baking industry. Her award-winning cookies are now sold at over 5,000 gourmet retailers throughout the United States and on her robust e-bakery, www.tatesbakeshop.com.King's Southampton bakery -- Tate's Bake Shop - is the recipient of multiple best bakery awards and is regarded as a "must-visit" Hamptons' destination. Thousands of customers each week enjoy the shop's more than 100 offerings, including breads, muffins, cakes, pies, seasonal specialties, and of course, cookies!With a commitment to using nothing but fresh, preservative-free ingredients, and a simple, straightforward approach to baking, Kathleen King has earned a variety of awards and honors. On September 25, 2012, she released Baking for Friends (hardcover, 208 pages), the highly anticipated follow-up cookbook to The Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook (2005, St. Martin's Press, foreword by Ina Garten). Baking for Friends is inspired by Kathleen's desire to share the joy of gourmet baking, and the new book showcases incredible new recipes, features exclusive baking tips, and gives fans across the country a taste of the effortless style that makes Kathleen King the Hamptons' most beloved baker.