TEST
Cooking competition romance time! Sadie on a Plate is all about a young Seattle chef who, following a messy break-up, becomes a contestant on a nationally televised cooking program and tries to bring kosher cooking to the masses.
Sadie is in a career crisis. This top-flight chef has been fired from her spot in a Seattle restaurant by her ex, who has proceeded to ruin her reputation by speaking badly of her all over town. But things start to look up when Sadie receives news that she’s about to become a contestant on Chef Supreme, a nationally broadcast cooking contest. Even better, she meets a cute guy named Luke on the plane to New York. She’s bummed that she won’t be able to talk to him during the show’s filming period due to her NDA; they share a meal and a kiss and part. Until the first day of shooting, when Sadie arrives on set to find Luke is there as well – and is shocked when she finds out exactly why.
If you like Top Chef and have been longing for a behind-the-scenes romance one season, this book will be a gift. But even if you’re not, Sadie on a Plate is a bright and breezy trip through the hells and joys of life on a cooking competition.
Hooray for representation. Sadie’s desire to make kosher cooking more prominent in the minds of the masses, guided by her internal voice (which takes the shape of her judgy and very dead Grandma Ruth) is a lot of fun to behold. I loved her refusal to be beaten, even when things seemed their hardest. And her romance with Luke is sweet as a slice of noodle kugel. Also points for the book’s diverse cast and the way the book speaks about their varying cuisines and cooking styles. The food-talk here is uniformly fun and excellent and mouthwatering, and the representation of life behind the scenes at a reality show is pretty much spot on.
I did categorise this as women’s fiction for a reason, however; the middle stretch of Sadie on a Plate mainly focuses on the competition and how Sadie survives it, leaving little room for the romance to grow. This causes it to come off as somewhat under-baked, which might disappoint romance purists looking for more. Those mainly here for Sadie’s journey, however, will be delighted. And her friendship with Kaitlyn is a lot of fun too.
Even though the romance is a little undercooked, Sadie on a Plate has a winning style and a great heroine who manages to make you root for her, flaws and all.
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Grade: B+
Book Type: Women's Fiction
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 15/03/22
Publication Date: 03/2022
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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Thanks so much for this fun review. I enjoyed the story and reading about delicious food.