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FOOD WHORE
A Novel of Dining and Deceit
Jessica Tom
Releasing Oct 27th, 2015
William Morrow
Full of wit and mouth-watering
cuisines, Jessica Tom’s debut novel offers a clever insider take on the
rarefied world of New York City’s dining scene in the tradition of The Devil
Wears Prada meets Kitchen Confidential.
Food
whore (n.) A person
who will do anything for food.
When Tia Monroe moves to New York
City, she plans to put herself on the culinary map in no time. But after a
coveted internship goes up in smoke, Tia’s suddenly just another young food
lover in the big city.
But when Michael Saltz, a legendary
New York Times restaurant critic, lets Tia in on a career-ending secret—that
he’s lost his sense of taste—everything changes. Now he wants Tia to serve as
his palate, ghostwriting his reviews. In return he promises her lavish meals, a
bottomless cache of designer clothing, and the opportunity of a lifetime. Out
of prospects and determined to make it, Tia agrees.
Within weeks, Tia’s world transforms
into one of luxury: four-star dinners, sexy celebrity chefs, and an unlimited
expense account at Bergdorf Goodman. Tia loves every minute of it…until she
sees her words in print and Michael Saltz taking all the credit. As her secret
identity begins to crumble and the veneer of extravagance wears thin, Tia is
forced to confront what it means to truly succeed—and how far she’s willing to
go to get there.
The
reception was meant to be casual and fun, but instead the air vibrated with
tension, like a kettle on the verge of boiling. I saw some people in crisp lab
coats (the food science researchers), others in tweed jackets (the cultural
anthropologists), and a select group in shorts and hoodies who looked about the
same age as us (the Internet start-up founders). The room was a convergence of
all kinds of food industry professionals: restaurateurs, packaged food makers,
web series producers. Students like me jockeyed for position around these
would-be mentors, needy moons circling any planet with a vacancy in its orbit.
“Do
you see Helen?” I asked Elliott. He already had a job at the New York Botanical
Garden in the Bronx, but he’d come with me to the graduate student reception as
a show of support.
Even
though he had attended three of her speaking engagements with me and knew her
face, he checked her picture again before scanning the crowd.
“Helen
. . . Helen . . . where are you, Helen?” he said with squinted, searching eyes.
“Want me to walk around? I’ll text you if I see her.”
Before
I could say yes, Elliott was off, hunting. He was good like that. Elliott was
Elliott—goofy and kind and the type of guy who made me giddy even by standing a
little too close. He’s a good one.
But
one thing Elliott will never be is a person who loves to eat. He isn’t opposed
to a good meal or annoyingly picky or anything like that. It’s just that food
doesn’t matter to him. If a meal ever tried to speak to
Elliott, he’d probably excuse himself from the conversation. But that didn’t
mean he’d bail on helping me out.
Now
that I was officially in NYU’s master’s program in Food Studies, I didn’t want
to leave Helen to chance. The committee already had my internship application
and I’d find out my placement in five days, but maybe—just maybe—I could seal
the deal by charming the socks off Helen at this event.
Helen
is brilliant. Her work for the Times is legendary for
its incisive critiques, but I love her memoirs and cookbooks the most.
Unshackled by journalistic constraints, her voice growswarm and visceral
and pulls you into the heart of every recipe and story. You sit in her blue
childhood kitchen in Massachusetts, ache over her short-lived love affair with
a chef in France,grit your teeth at
her hectic days as a new mother.
Part
of my plan included enticing Helen with a batch of my special cashew-almond-walnut- pecan
Dacquoise Drops, something to make her take notice of my application essay.
Dacquoise Drops were no ordinary cookies. They’re what drove me to Helen,
though I can’t say I planned it that way.
Reprinted courtesy of
William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers.
MY TWO CENTS
What I licked most, oops liked most about this book -okay so maybe I did lick my lips a few times- in this yummy food filled novel was...well the food!
Okay, so I also enjoyed Tia's journey just as much.
This was a well written novel, with a well developed plot. Tia grows in the book, which is something I look for in books of this type. Although there is a happy ending, I can't help but want more of Tia.
The only drawback was the shitty, asshat behavior by some of the characters.
I would read another book by Ms. Tom.
ARC PROVIDED FOR MY HONEST REVIEW
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Jessica
Tom is a writer and food blogger living in Brooklyn. She has worked on initiatives with
restaurants, hospitality startups, food trucks, and citywide culinary programs.
Jessica attended Yale University and graduated with a concentration in fiction
writing, studying three years under Amy Bloom. She brings a wide variety of
food experience to her writing.
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