Book Review: ‘So, You Think You’re A Celebrity…. Chef’ by Caroline James.

I would like to give huge thanks to author Caroline James for being, first an incredible author and second an incredible baker!

I was extremely lucky to have been sent a fabulous package from this lovely lady, which included a copy of this book, and a home made brownie. Caroline warned me that reading the book may make me feel like eating Brownies!! It did, in fact I made 2 batches myself while I read this.

This is the lovely parcel that I received:  ♥

How thoughtful with the wrapping too. Here is the delicious brownie which I devoured.

So, on with my review of the book, as always my honest opinions will be given. 

Description:

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 ageing 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?

 

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Paperback, 284 pages

Published October 4th 2013 by ThornBerry Publishing

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My Thoughts:

This is a 5 star book that I absolutely loved and devoured. It tells the story of a group of characters who each have their own storyline, but all come together in a way. Hilary owns a company that promotes chefs and cookery. We have Zelda, who was my favourite character. She is very la di da and is doing a cook off in some of the poorer areas of the country. Then we have Bob, who is Hilary’s assistant and loves all the celebrity gossip. Hilary and Bob both travel to Ireland to decide whether to promote and invest in a new cookery school. There Hilary meets an old love, Mickey, and a new friend who is Long Tom Hendry. Long Tom is an older rock star who is a recovering alcoholic wanting to return to his music.

At the beginning of this book, the author put a list of all the characters and who they are. I thought this was brilliant, during the first few chapters I skipped back to this page a good few times to see how each character came into relevance to the story. I haven’t seen this in a book before and I thought it was a great unique idea.

I love books that involve tempting food, gossipy stories and a host of fabulous characters. This was exactly that. I loved how they visited The Good Food Show, which I have had a lot of experience with. I loved how they spoke of the foodie markets and shows in Ireland. Also all the delicious foods that they ate in restaurants and on set. Here in comes Gorgeous Gary and his amazing Brownies. This is not just a book about delicious food though, the storyline is excellent and I loved how the author gave each character their own little plot and you can see how they intertwine as the book continues. 

This is a 5 star book, that I absolutely loved. 

 This book is available on Amazon. ow.ly/LJvk0 

You can also follow the author Caroline James on Twitter @CarolineJames12  

If you have read this or plan to read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Reading.