Chef's Kiss, by Jarrett Melendez

If you’ve ever felt lost in life, you’ll find a friend in Ben Cook.

Title: Chef’s Kiss

Author: Jarrett Melendez

Illustrator: Danica Brine

ISBN: 9781620109045

Publisher: Oni Press

Publication date: 2022

Genre(s): Realistic fiction, contemporary

Available format(s): Print

Awards, honors, notable mentions: 2023 Alex Award Winner

Reading level/interest level: Adults, with special appeal to young adults (as indicated by the Alex Award). Interestingly, this is cataloged as a teen book at one of the libraries where I work, and as an adult book at the other.

Plot summary: Struggling to find work as an editor, writer, or anything remotely related to his English degree, recent college grad Ben Cook decides to… cook! He finds that a local vegetarian restaurant is hiring (and requires no experience, thank GOD!), but realizes he has to pass several challenges to prove he’s got the chops to stay. His plant-based creations have to satisfy the extremely intimidating head chef and his absurdly adorable pig.

Thankfully, this job is only meant to hold Ben over until he scores another, better-paying one in his preferred industry. But when he begins to develop a crush on his fellow chef Liam, as well as a newfound passion for cooking, things really start heating up in the kitchen, leaving Ben more confused than ever.

About the author: Chef’s Kiss is informed by Jarrett Melendez’ (he/him) experience in the culinary world. He is a former chef and line cook, as well as a recipe developer and food writer for many major publications in the industry, including Bon Appetit and Epicurious. He is also, evidently, a lover of comics and has contributed to several graphic novels and authored a comic-style cookbook in addition to writing Chef’s Kiss (Melendez, n.d.).

Critical review: The chemistry between Ben and Liam develops as they cook delicious recipes in a cozy restaurant setting, and it makes for gentle escapism. But for me, Chef’s Kiss lacks staying power because it lacks dimension. It is a “realistic” graphic novel that does not feel very real. Most of the characters struck me as caricatures; Ben’s friends have defining quirks but little complexity, his boss Davis is a burly, gruff bully, and his overbearing parents, absent for most of the book, pop in at the end for a villainous showdown with the boss (who has a secret heart of gold, of course) and there is no nuanced exploration of Ben’s complicated relationship with them. There is also a pig thrown in there for comic relief – Watson is adorable, but he has no other purpose in the story. The best thing this book has to offer is its specific focus on the phase of life immediately following college graduation; it brings to mind Taylor Swift’s infamous song about being 22: “We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time / it’s miserable and magical, oh yeah” (Swift, 2021).

Related programming ideas: The teen librarian where I work recently hosted a “Crash Course in Dorm Room Cooking” for young people just about to live on their own for the first time. It was such an INSPIRED idea and this book would be just perfect to promote during such an event!

Brief booktalk: This book is the definition of relatable. If you’ve ever felt lost in life, you’ll find a friend in Ben Cook, who is frustrated by the job rejections he’s facing after graduating from college and deeply anxious about his future. To hold him over, he snags a part-time gig in a local vegetarian restaurant and finds himself cooking up exquisitely tasty dishes as well as a sweet romance with Liam, a fellow chef. You can actually make the recipes – and they’re delicious!

Potential challenges: This book faces increased risk of a challenge due to the inclusion of a queer relationship (the censorship of LGBTQIA+ content has been on the rise in recent years). Depiction of this relationship is really quite mild, in my opinion, but illustrations of Ben’s fantasies about making out with his crush are perhaps more objectionable to certain audiences, and could result in the “naked buns” effect, where an image is more controversial than words describing the same idea (Alverson, 2014).

Reason for inclusion: It’s relatable to young adults navigating familial tension, changing friendships, financial concerns, job prospects, and anxiety about the future. On Bibliocommons I found a review for the book that seemed to have been posted by a newly minted adult: “When I say that I feel the same exact way the main character feels throughout this book, it was almost like I was reading my own thoughts… I know I'm "young" and "I have time" but when people say those things to me every time I feel unsure, it makes me feel that even though I did all the "right" steps, I still haven't done any of the things I was actually meant to do” (Awhite21, 2022). This reader’s meaningful connection to Chef’s Kiss does indicate to me that older teens, especially those with friends or siblings in their early twenties, would also be an appropriate audience for this book.

Check this out: An animated trailer for Chef's Kiss created by the Oni Press team!