Sadie on a Plate

Every graduate student develops an obsession while studying for exams. It is a necessary coping mechanism that allows us to survive grueling weeks of cramming. There was the girl that was constantly in the gym, listening to audio review books. The guy that stalked airline mile websites to fund his post exam trip. And then there was me and the Food Network.

I watched Iron Chef, Chopped and Cake Wars with abandon. A textbook was perpetually in my lap and a souffle was always up on the screen. I dreamed of cakes cleverly disguised to look like anything but cake. Baskets full of mystery ingredients that somehow coalesced into a cohesive dish. It wasn’t particularly healthy, but it got me through. Because ever since I was a little girl watching Yan Can Cook on the public broadcasting network, food has been my happy place.

It was therefore a forgone conclusion that I would enjoy Amanda Elliot’s first adult romance, Sadie on a Plate. Set in a reality TV show where the contestants vie for the title of Chef Supreme – and the investment dollars that come with it – the book follows Chef Sadie as she attempts to claim the title and rehabilitate her reputation following a disaster at her last chef job. The complication? Luke Weston, the incredibly hot judge that Sadie accidentally met on the flight over.

Luke is a great love interest – sensitive and sweet- and Sadie is a voicey, scrappy main character, but their relationship is almost secondary to the relationships Sadie develops between the other contestants. They are diverse and realistically drawn, each having their own complete character arcs both in terms of romance and personal growth. I have no idea how she balanced it all, but everyone from Sadie’s frenemy Katilyn to the audience members that routinely got Sadie’s worst plates, had a fully rounded narrative. And they work well with each other. Much like the ingredients on Sadie’s plates.

And then there’s the food. Pages and pages of luscious, gorgeous, mouth watering descriptions of Jewish food. Sadie explains several times that cooking Jewish food does not have to be limited to cooking kosher food. She creates new takes on such Ashkenazi favorites as gefilte fish and chopped liver. Never in my life did I think liver could actually sound tasty, but it did. In fact, my favorite line of the book comes at 90% (according to my e-reader) when Sadie answers why Ashkenazi food relies heavily on certain ingredients. I will not spoil her answer for you, but I will tell you that I cackled so hard I scared the other people in the room.

If there is to be bonus content, I sincerely hope it includes a recipe book.

I passed my exams long ago but I still enjoy some Food Network every now and again. I love creating mini chopped competitions in my home and disguising cupcakes to look like anything but cake. So trust me when I tell you, this book is full of great food and drama. In short, I’m obsessed with it.

Note: I received an e-arc of this book through NetGalley

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E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.