So You Think You're A Celebrity...Chef? - Caroline James

 

Today I am delighted to be part of the blog tour for So You Think You're A Celebrity...Chef?, the new release from Caroline James.  I had heard this was a hilarious book that would have me chuckling out loud, so was really looking forward to tucking in.

The blurb...

Mix together…
A tough-cookie media agent who's clawed her way to the top, and a con-man who wants to open a cookery school. Add in a washed-up celebrity chef whose career needs re-building…

Flavour with…
An aging rock star fresh from rehab, and a Sloane Ranger food writer who gets her own TV show…

Bring to the boil…
At a Gourmet Food Festival, in Ireland, where anything goes!

When media agent Hilary Hargreaves travels to Ireland to look at a campaign for a new cookery school, she meets a blast from her past - the romantic but feckless chef Mickey Lloyd, who is hell-bent on resurrecting his flagging career. Her tough demeanour is rocked as it becomes apparent Mickey's intentions involve more than a stint behind a stove in his quest to pursue her. But as plans for the school gain momentum, she realises that she's developing more than a passing interest in reformed alcoholic Long Tom Hendry, who owns the crumbling old mansion where the school will be homed. Hilary has many ingredients to juggle with her demanding client list - which looks set to boil over if she doesn't keep control. From London's bustling Soho, to Southern Ireland and the sunny shores of the Caribbean, has Hilary got too much on her plate and is she really prepared to risk it all for love?

My thoughts...
 I enjoyed So You Think You're A Celebrity...Chef?, an escapist, farcical read that had me laughing out loud at some points.  I felt it took a while to really pick up pace, but when it did I was immersed in a world very different from my actual life!  Hilary is an interesting character, and I felt she developed well throughout the novel, although I did get frustrated at how the characters were all larger than life-although from watching many of the cooking programmes on TV, I can quite believe that many celebrity chef's actually are like those in the book!  I really liked the elements of travel in the novel which added extra interest. 

Overall, I felt this was an original book with fresh ideas, laughs and scandal.  I admit to not being a huge fan of the influx of TV chefs, so am probably not the audience Caroline James is targeting, but So You Think You're A Celebrity...Chef? may well be a dish 'foodies' gobble down in one helping.

So You Think You're A Celebrity ...Chef? is out now, published by Thornberry Publishing.

6.5/10
With thanks to Caroline James and Fiction Addiction tours.