Bermudian cookbook author Dylan Hollis has scaled new heights of recognition after a giant image of his work was unveiled on a towering billboard in Manhattan, New York.

The novice baker penned Baking Yesteryear — a collection of dessert recipes dating back to the early 1900s — last year after testing out the recipes at home.

The book has proved such a success, at present No 3 on The New York Times bestseller list having first charted 13 weeks ago, that global distributor Amazon chose it as the image for its pre-Christmas “Best Books of the Year” advertising campaign in the United States.

Mr Hollis, an accomplished jazz musician, was studying at the University of Wyoming when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020. In the misery of lockdown, the former Warwick Academy student’s thoughts turned to food.

What followed was life-changing. Mr Hollis filmed himself testing recipes from an old cookbook, posting the quirky, humorous clips on TikTok. Within months, he had a following of millions and ultimately a book deal.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette earlier this year, Mr Hollis said: “It’s not about me but the old recipes and wackiness of the discovery of yesteryear.

“That’s how I ground myself. It is very wild and nothing prepares you for that — nobody tells you what to do with 9.1 million people behind you. I haven’t a clue what’s going on.

“For my parents there is a great degree of pride and they are happy for me to grow into a career — well, it’s analogous to a career. They knew I always wanted to be an entertainer.”

Mr Hollis has spent much of the past year touring the US and appearing on television talk shows.

But he is home in his native Bermuda for the holiday season, and will be at the Bermuda Book Store on Queen Street between 6pm and 9pm tomorrow to meet readers and sign copies of Baking Yesteryear.