For fans of Alison Espach's The Wedding People and Dolly Alderton's Good Material, a delectable comedy of manners about cooking, ambition, and friendship set in the food world as a young and socially awkward writer takes a job ghostwriting the cookbook for a famous (and famously chaotic) Hollywood starlet.
Isabella Pasternack is a food person. She revels in the beauty of a perfectly cooked egg, she daydreams about her first meal at Chez Panisse, and every inch of her tiny apartment teems with cookbooks, from Prune to Cooking by Hand to Roast Chicken and Other Stories. What Isabella is not, unfortunately, is a gainfully employed person. In the wake of a disastrous live-streamed soufflé demonstration, Isabella is summarily fired from her job at a digital food magazine and must quickly find a way to keep herself in buckwheat and anchovy paste. When offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a cookbook for Molly Babcock, the once-beloved television actress now mired in scandal, Isabella warily accepts. Unfortunately, Molly quickly proves herself to be a nightmare collaborator: hungover, flaky, shallow, and—worst of all—indifferent to food. But between Molly’s bizarre late-night texts, goofy confessions, and impromptu road trips, Isabella reluctantly begins to see Molly’s charms. Can Isabella corral Molly out of the gossip rags and into the kitchen? Can she find the key to Molly’s heart and stomach? Or will Isabella’s devotion to her culinary idols and Molly’s monstrous ego send the entire cookbook—and both of their careers—up in flames?
A mouthwatering, hilarious debut peppered with insider food world detail—the real writers behind celebrity chef cookbooks, the hot restaurants that run on the backs of their sous-chefs, the secret to perfect blinis à la Russe—Adam Roberts's Food Person is a literary soufflé—a deceptively light, deliciously rich, showstopping confection.
"When Isabella loses her job...at a digital food magazine after panicking and making a hash of a chocolate-soufflé demonstration live on Instagram...salvation seems to come in the form of a job ghostwriting a cookbook for one Molly Babcock, the beautiful former star of a prime-time soap opera....Molly, who is nasty, narcissistic, endlessly hungover, and…occasionally charming, doesn’t cook and is calorie-averse. Never mind The Devil Wears Prada. This is The Devil Eats Nada....[Roberts] writes with deep humor and authority about the food world and its inhabitants, and with humanity about the various appetites that drive his characters."
—Joanne Kaufman, The Wall Street Journal
“Adam Roberts made me, someone who formerly thought Chef Boyardee was the ultimate celebrity chef, an honest-to-goodness FOOD PERSON in this savory meal of a debut. Charming, witty, and served with all the food industry insight the author’s decades of experience bring to the table. You’ll want seconds! I can’t wait to see what Adam dishes up next.”
—Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle Abroad
“Literally the most delicious beach read—sharp, funny, and bang on trend, this novel is a Devil Wears Prada for devoted foodies. I had to stop every other chapter to cook a chocolate soufflé or brownies!”
—Plum Sykes, New York Times bestselling author of Wives Like Us
“Food Person is a debut that's about as perfect as they come. Roberts takes everything you think you know about the food world and turns it on its head, whipping up a hilarious and slyly moving novel about ambition, friendship, and soufflés gone awry. Get ready for a riotous, delicious romp."
—Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding
"At turns hilarious, harrowing, and heartwarming, this wonderful debut will be beloved by food people everywhere—and if you're not a food person already, it may make one out of you."
—J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club
“I scarfed this book down in a single seating. Utterly delicious and satisfying to the end.”
—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Gulp
"[This] comedy of manners follows an unemployed food writer, Isabella, who agrees to ghostwrite a cookbook for a badly behaved starlet hoping to revive her career and reputation. The writing is hilarious and thoughtful."
—Cup of Jo
“Roberts is a terrific writer who loves food, knows his way around the kitchen and can grab—and hold—your attention on just about any subject....Also, he’s naturally funny....Food Person...is about good friendships and messy relationships—messy kitchens too....With all that’s going on around us, a little romance, some smiles, a bunch of laughs and a lot of good food seems like a perfect recipe."
—Dorie Greenspan
“In cookbook author and food blogger Roberts’ delightful debut novel, Isabella, a lost, twentysomething foodie agrees to ghostwrite a has-been actress’ cookbook....Roberts’ love for food shines....Filled with ‘salty surprise,’ Food Person is perfectly cooked.”
—Booklist, starred
"Roberts’ novel is a confection—satisfyingly over-the-top—but with complex notes; he has a true knack for understanding the ways that food rules every aspect of our lives, from the gourmet’s obsession to the shame and guilt surrounding indulgence. But even readers who don’t know a branzino from bearnaise will find plenty to enjoy here, from the colorful secondary characters to the zippy plot. A debut novel that dishes up one of the most delectable ingredients of all: fun."
—Kirkus
"Entertaining....Roberts’s breezy and zany dramedy offers a fun take on the joy and business of cooking."
—Publishers Weekly
ADAM ROBERTS is the author of The Amateur Gourmet, Secrets of the Best Chefs, and Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway. He started his food blog The Amateur Gourmet in 2004, and also hosts the podcast Lunch Therapy. Roberts has also written for The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, and for film and television. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog Winston. Food Person is his first novel.
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