Guest post written by author Amanda Elliot
Amanda Elliot is the author of several young adult and middle grade books as Amanda Panitch. Sadie on a Plate is her first adult novel. She lives in New York City, where she owns way too many cookbooks for her tiny kitchen.
As far as my favorite activities go, reading romance books and eating tasty food are both way up there. So when I can combine them by reading a swoony romance featuring mouthwatering descriptions of food, I am fully here for it. In all of the books featured here, falling in love is delicious both literally and figuratively.
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
In this absolutely delightful confection by Lucy Parker, two bakers must fight it out to see which one will earn the chance to bake the royal wedding cake. Sylvie is known for her colorful hair, glittery baked goods, and fanciful candy animals. Dominic is known for stately monochrome perfection and the lollipop stick up his ass. They might start off enemies, but as they’re forced to spend more time together in competition, the heat they begin to generate might melt all that sugar into caramel.
I literally laughed out loud the whole way through this hilarious romp. Sylvie and Dominic captured my heart as they slowly broke each other’s walls down to find the soft gooey vulnerabilities beneath. I finished the book feeling not just sad that it was over, but that I couldn’t actually visit their bakeries in real life. It’s a good thing I’m already married, because if I was wedding planning right now, I’d be disappointed by any cake that didn’t come from Sugar Fair.
So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
A main character who runs a Korean cooking YouTube channel and meal prep service? I’m so in. Jessie Kim’s had enough of the racism and sexism in investment banking, and has to move home to figure out the next step in her career. Which involves not just the YouTube channel and meal prep service mentioned before, but a sweet love story with her main childhood enemy, Daniel.
I couldn’t get enough of the mouthwatering descriptions of Korean food depicted in Jessie’s channel, or the hilarious antics Jessie’s mother gets into as she does her best to “help” with it. This book was also a really fun look at the business side of the food world, as Jessie grows into herself and gets her food out to an audience eager for it.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall
As you might guess from the plot of my own book, I have a thing for books set on cooking reality shows. In this book, the titular Rosaline Palmer must battle her way through a British baking show, which might also involve falling for not just one but two men.
While this book leans heavier on Rosaline’s journey and her food than the romance, it is a joy to devour. Reading through each of Rosaline’s bakes and the creations of her competitors will make you crave cupcakes and crumpets. I’m already salivating for the next book in this series!
Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Watching a fake-dating relationship turn into a real-dating relationship is the second-best thing ever—the first is, of course, when that transformation involves a lot of cooking and food descriptions. Which this book does. Reena, the main character, wants to enter the biggest food competition show around, except they’re only casting couples. Why not team up with the hot guy across the hall? Even if there are some complicated family dynamics intertwined with their budding friendship? And even if Reena still has some personal journeys to go on herself?
I loved Reena as soon as I read that she named her sourdough starters. Reading about all the different kinds of bread she bakes made me want to go buy out a bakery. (Special shout-out to the challah—my heroine Sadie approves!) And I loved learning more about East African Indian food and the discourse about not dumbing her family’s cuisine down for a Western palate. I can’t wait to make the Zanzibar egg curry recipe included in the back of the book!
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson
Spoiler alert: this Romeo and Juliet retelling fortunately has a much happier ending than that of its inspiration. While their families are bitter enemies thanks to a stolen taco recipe many years ago, celebrity chef Julieta is forced to work for fast food magnate Ramón. There’s all sorts of tensions between them of both the literal variety and the sexual variety. Will the two of them overcome their families’ history to find a new start together?
Make sure you’ve got all the ingredients ready, because this book is going to make you crave tacos and all sorts of delicious Mexican food. But the world of Barrio Logan that the author builds is just as rich and vibrant, as are the important issues of gentrification and identity that the plot explores.
Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander
Sorry in advance, because this queer romance isn’t out until May, but trust me: it’s worth the wait. Pastry chef Simone has her dream job developing recipes at a food magazine, and she doesn’t need the super-friendly, super-hot nonbinary kitchen manager Ray getting their messy feelings all over her tidy, well-ordered life. But when Simone and Ray are tasked with creating a new video series together, and transphobia from some of their coworkers threatens Ray’s job and their health, Simone starts to realize that maybe she does have feelings for Ray after all.
This book presented a major dilemma: how could I bake the winter squash galette and chocolate-on-chocolate trifle that it made me crave without having to put the book down? Simone’s voice was both relatable and hilarious as she learned to loosen up, and her slow burn romance with Ray was tender, sweet, and hot. I desperately want to go to their dinner party (with Simone cooking and Ray hosting, of course).
Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot
I couldn’t leave my own book off a list like this! Having just been fired by her ex-boyfriend/boss (yes, bad decision), Sadie is ecstatic to receive an invitation to compete on her favorite reality TV show, Chef Supreme. Surely that will revive her flailing career, right? And it’s a bonus when she has a meet-cute and a whirlwind date with the hot guy sitting next to her on the plane there. But when she turns up to set the next day and realizes that he’s the new judge, she’s going to have to keep the heat between them tamped down so that the pot doesn’t boil over and get her kicked off the show.
My book is less a romance with food than a romance about food. Because the main characters aren’t able to vocalize their feelings without consequences for most of the story, they use food as a substitute to tell the other person who they are and how they feel and what they want. I hope it makes you laugh, makes you feel happy, and above all, makes you crave the food!
