In this smart, delicious new novel by the bestselling author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, a celebrity cook shows her friends and family the joy of fulfillment - and manages to spice up her own life at the same time.
Shortly before turning the big 5-0, hostess extraordinaire and Cooking with Gusto! TV personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she'd rather ignore - her own. She's getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who has to bake her own birthday party. To make things worse, the network execs at the Cooking Channel want to boost her ratings by teaming Gus with the beautiful, ambitious Carmen Vega, a former Miss Spain, who is decidedly not middle-aged.
But Gus won't go without a fight. She recreates her show as an on-air cooking class, which she uses as an excuse to bring together her extended family for some lessons in life as well as cuisine. The new cast includes her bickering daughters, fickle Sabrina, who has just gotten engaged for the third time, and overserious Aimee; Troy, Sabrina's ex-boyfriend, and Hannah, Gus's timid neighbor. And while Gus may have to deal with Carmen's diva behavior, she also has to contend with a new culinary producer, Oliver, a handsome ex-banker who raises the temperature just a little beyond Gus's comfort zone. In the pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus realizes that she might be able not just to rejuvenate her career but to improve her family life - and perhaps her love life as well...
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Review:
Comfort Food is a short and light novel for lovers of cooking TV shows. It reminded me a lot of the television show Julia, which tells the story of how Julia Child’s friends came together for her cooking program The French Chef.
I think this book is meant for a very specific group of people: those who enjoy sitting down to watch a good cooking show.
Augusta “Gus” is a mature woman who has had success with her cooking show, but now she’s being asked to team up with former Miss Spain, Carmen Vega. Gus is not willing to give up easily, and she tries to involve her family and friends to make the show more bearable and to show the network that she doesn’t work well with Carmen Vega.
What she doesn’t expect is that Carmen Vega will also do whatever it takes to introduce her own ideas and make a name for herself in the televised cooking world.
Honestly, I didn’t expect to enjoy it, since it was one of those books I found at a used bookstore for a dollar. I had never heard of it, and when I checked Goodreads to see what other readers had said, it didn’t seem very popular.
However, it was a pleasant surprise. It’s not that it was my best read of the year—it was just one of those books you pick up to motivate yourself to keep reading, and thanks to its light writing style, it’s enjoyable. It felt a lot like a romantic comedy you put on over the weekend to relax.
Another aspect I liked was that it pays tribute to TV shows like those of Julia Child or Ina Garten. You can clearly see where the author drew inspiration for “Gus.”
The themes Kate Jacobs explores in the book include how to cope with a midlife crisis and how to make your voice heard—always with the support of family and friends.
A simple, warm, and pleasant book for all fans of cooking shows.
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