Jarrett MelendezRezensionen

3.5 stars

3.5 Stars

After Ben graduates from college, he moves in with three close friends and commences a desperate job search, but after 17 interviews and no calls - all employers want previous professional experience, a classic Catch-22 - Ben applies on a whim to a kitchen position that is advertised as "no experience necessary." Tall, handsome, tattooed, blond Liam is friendly and wants to hire Ben after a brief test, but the gruff chef says Ben must pass a series of challenges, which Watson (the pig) will judge. Fortunately, Watson loves Ben's dishes, and Ben is happy working in the restaurant with Liam (on whom he has a (reciprocated) crush) and other coworkers Emilia and Mel. This causes a wrinkle with his best friend Liz, who feels she's being replaced, but the twentysomethings have the social-emotional skills to talk it out. At a crucial moment, Ben's parents arrive at his new workplace - which he lied about - and they have a confrontation.

Perfect for the newly graduated, especially foodies, who like a little light romance and solid friendships.

Back matter includes process notes, sketches, fan art, and recipes.

See also: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Quotes

"I was supposed to be a writer. At least, that's what I thought I wanted. Really, it's what my parents always wanted, and I think what I really wanted was their approval. But I don't think I would have gotten that even if I got one of the writing jobs I applied for." (Ben, 71)

"What's stupid is making teenagers decide what they want to do for the next fifty years for work when they barely know who they are as people." (Emi, 71)

Food, friendship, romance & writing, a great combination, with solid LGBTQ representation. I really enjoyed this Adult GN, it made me want to learn how to cook the recipes Ben created and cooked in the story! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an advance copy by NetGalley for reviewing purposes.

Ok, so this comic was on my wishlist for a while now and I was really excited to be able to read it early! It was very relatable, all the what ifs and the struggles of the first job, trying to win the experience you need to get a chance to win the experience you need.
I liked how in the end not everything sounds perfect, Ben probably will have to work on his relationship with his parents, but that's fine. I also loved how he figured out how to do both of his passions work with each other. A really cute comic, love it!

This was such a cute, fun read! I loved the art style and the main characters. Ben's friends seemed almost a little too conventionally quirky?? In the sense that it felt like the author went "Ah yes, every queer friend group has one of these friends" and then proceeded to put all of them in Ben's friend group. So while honestly accurate, it also just felt like a bit much to have a character that speaks using Shakespearan language. I enjoyed the overall plot a lot but wished to see more of Ben and Liam and their relationship development.
Overall it was a really cute and quick read. I definitely recommend it for people looking for a sweet, queer graphic novel.

Super cute queer graphic novel about finding your happiness and food. There's also an awesome pig who I love and adore.

Perfectly delicious, like the best kind of appetizer. Honestly, these characters! They were all so adorable! And I really, really want more backstory on Liam, the love interest, since we only got the tiniest of peeks inside his head. Is there more? (Cue me, scraping the inside of an imaginary bowl of ice cream for the last drops, except that instead of ice cream, it's cute boys in love.)

Chef's Kiss is a coming-of-age graphic novel about a college graduate who majored in English. Ben Cook could not find a job in his chosen field. He applied for jobs as a copyrighter, journalist and proofreader but because he had no job experience, no one would hire him. One day he passes by a restaurant and sees a help wanted sign. Ben decides to apply. After all, he is a gourmet cook at home. However, the restaurant owner requires a series of tests before hiring Ben permanently. With sous chef Liam's help, Ben begins his culinary journey.

Right off the bat I could tell the dialogue between the characters was true to life. It's what you would look for in a novel and it helped to depict the characters and their relationships. There was alot of small talk between them but it was relevant to character development. I got to know each character by the way they spoke, the words they used. There was no exposition. The back story of the expectation of Ben's parents for him was all told in dialogue.

Chef's Kiss is filled with humor. The taste tester at the restaurant is the owner's pet pig. The back story on how Chef Davis met the pig was fantastical but made me laugh. Ben's crush on Liam is a major component of the story so if you don't like queer YA stories, you will want to skip this one.

Ben Cook is an English major who can't find a job in his field after college -- go figure -- so he takes a trial-basis gig as an apprentice chef at a restaurant just to have an income . . . and because the guy doing the interview is so darn hot!

Gentle and mild are the words of the day in this little coming of age romance. This is a borderline 2-star book for me because:
• Ben turns out to be a Mary Sue when it comes to cooking, able to tweak any recipe to make it better despite having no training.
• The restaurant has a live pig for exceedingly cutesy comic relief.
• A big showdown with some villains near the end feels more contrived than organic.
• The balance between coming of age and romance is off, leaving the object of Ben's crush a fragment of a person.
Still, I liked the tone of the story and most of the other characters, and the art was nice. So I closed the book happier than when I opened it.

If you like this, I recommend trying Bloom by Kevin Panetta.

Trigger Warnings: unsupportive parents

College is now over and English graduate Ben Cook is hunting for a job… any job… doing anything. But interview after interview, he keeps getting rejected due to lack of experience. He can’t even be a garbage collector! After multiple turndowns Ben stumbles upon a sign stating “No Experience Necessary” outside a restaurant and he jumps at the chance. The owner gives him a three week trial basis, with a new challenge at the end of every week where he cooks a dish that must get approved by the owner’s pig, Wilson. When Ben begins to crush on his coworker, Liam, ditching his friends/roommates to cook, and his old plans to become a writer, Ben’s future becomes much less clear.

First off, I love that this is marketed at New Adult! I know this genre is still getting its feet on the ground, but it makes me so happy to see these stories being aimed at the right audience.

Secondly - this book is adorable. From the artwork and the storyline of figuring out what you want to do right outside of college and balancing life and friends… I loved it! There was so many things I loved: books, writing, food, gay romance, it was all there.

Wilson the pig was adorable and so funny and I loved the artwork of his expressions and actions. The story Chef gave of Wilson’s past made me laugh pretty loudly.

I enjoyed how we would have a walkthrough of Ben learning the new recipes. I can’t boil water without burning it, but it was nice to see the steps they were going through to get to the end result.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and its characters. I will be recommending this book to those who love graphic novels, romance, and those new adults who are trying to figure out what life outside of school will be like.

This was very sweet -- coming of age, figuring out what to do with your life, finding love and a new career interest -- all great things, and a winning selection of characters. It's also just slightly too over-the-top, with the main character revealed to have cosmic level cooking powers, an abusive top chef who runs all things past his pet pig and every shirtless character exceptionally muscled. Fun, fanfic, with a few more serious themes threaded throughout. I really enjoyed it, but I have an over the top sweet tooth, myself.

Advanced Readers' Copy provided by Oni Press.

Sigh. Chef's Kiss is pretty to look at (art below) but it's really shallowly developed. The opening scenes consist of Ben moving in with three roommates shortly after graduating from college. He applies to and interviews for lots of writing and editing jobs before stumbling upon a job opening at a nearby vegetarian restaurant. Thus begins a drawn out plot in which Ben has to cook three existing dishes and develop one new one for the restaurant and get approval of the chef's pig, Watson.


I was excited for Chef's Kiss because I love romance comics and have a restaurant background and hey, there's a pig! But the reality is that the story is boring and the romance is nearly non-existent. The creators clearly loved writing and illustrating the cooking scenes, but that's not what I thought I was signing up for and it took me two weeks to read a 160 page graphic novel. Not ideal. As for the romance, it's between Ben and the sous-chef, Liam. One of my issues with Chef's Kiss is that the power imbalance is never addressed. Liam is a few years older than Ben and he's Ben's direct supervisor. I guess they're not together until Ben passes his tests and is officially hired, but to not mention it at all in the entire book felt wrong. I spent years working for crappy bosses who hooked up with all the staff to think this is a non-issue. Most of those people (everyone I'm thinking of is a woman but I'm sure it's not limited by gender) were in low-paying, part-time jobs with no security or benefits. After the relationship/hookups ended, they often felt they couldn't stay employed at that restaurant and left. Surprising no one, the sous-chefs, pastry chefs and exec. chefs never left for the same reason...


Then again, the romance isn't the focus of this comic. If post-college coming of age plots and cooking are your jam, you might like this a lot!


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I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher for review.