Okay, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this but I loved it! I'm already looking forward to a sequel.

This graphic novel is a great light romantic comedy! The art style is nice and flows well for the slice of life story portrayed. The story follows life after college, and the struggle of finding a job post-graduation, and as a senior in college with my own graduation fast approaching in May, it was a well-timed read. The representation of friendships between the roommates, and the plotline of Ben straying from his original plan of being a writer to grow into his own while cooking created a story and characters that despite the short length I found myself truly caring about. The comedic elements of the pig and the banter between characters were a perfect garnish to the main course of the story. Overall, a very enjoyable and funny read!

This was such an adorable book! All of the characters were well developed, and the overall vibes of the book were amazing. Both the story and the illustrations were beautiful. I will definitely be recommending this to everyone when it comes out, and I will be on the lookout for more by this author in the future. Can't wait to purchase a physical copy!

The storyline was engaging, but I felt like there was WAYYYY too much dialogue on page... on every page. Because of this, visually, it was tiring and at times I didn't want to continue.

And also, there is very little romance despite the name.. all in all, it took me 20 days to finish a 125-page graphic novel..

thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What can be said about this graphic novel that isn’t already described in the title? Chef Kiss is a story about Ben, a fresh graduate with an English degree finding himself in a chef position in a quaint restaurant after a series of failures in his job-seeking attempts. Having to navigate pleasing the demanding owner of the establishment and his almost sentient pet pig, the narrative follows as Ben attempts to lie to his parents, balance friendships, and manage his crush on his supervisor. As he becomes more invested in this job, Ben begins to question his career path and the future that lies ahead of him.

Let me start off by saying that the art style is absolutely perfect. It captures the hilarity of Ben’s circumstances and the chaotic youth of fresh graduates. I love the attention to detail in all of the panels, with obscure character reactions or aside comments that infuses the graphic novel with so much personality. Obviously, a huge aspect of this book is food and I think Danica Brine and Hank Jones’ illustrations really make this graphic novel what it is. Every frame is as enticing as the last, pure explosion of entertainment and art.

I liked the progression of narrative throughout the book, especially the fact that Jarrett Melendez drew different plot points from the various relationships from Ben’s life, and not just have a singular focus on the romantic subplot. Ben’s friendship with his roommates are so endearing to read and applauding complex, given such limited pages for them to develop. That is not to say that Ben and Liam’s relationship was not the star of the graphic novel (if one were to exclude the pig that literally reached enlightenment by the end of the plot) - their dynamic is good fluffy and wholesome content. There is just something inherently tender to cook in each other’s company and the beautiful artwork depicts this intimacy beautifully.

If you’re looking for a sweet queer graphic novel that’s full of delicious food and found family, then Chef’s Kiss is absolutely the book for you. I love this book and getting to follow Ben as he tried to find a copywriting job after graduating college, only to stumble upon an unexpected opportunity to take his passion of cooking and turn it into a career. As someone who also struggled to find their way in young adulthood and ended up in culinary school, I found this story relatable, down to the crazy chef and fierce friendships you make when working in a kitchen.

Beside the story, I also loved the art in this book. All the food looked delicious and everything was so fun and colorful. This is definitely a book I’ll be recommending to everyone and shouting at them until they read it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book!

Graphic novels and queer romance are my two favorite things so when you add them together I’m basically in heaven. Chefs kiss was an adorable and laugh out loud story about Ben Cook who starts a job at a restaurant. Shenanigans and romance ensue and it creates a wonderful story that you truly enjoy reading. I really enjoyed this novel, I wish I was a bit longer but I wish that for every book!

Also posted in goodreads1

I loved this amazing graphic story!!.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

This isnt a bad graphic novel, but its not what I was expecting. It sounded like it was going to be romanced focused, but theres very little romance here and what there is I found rushed and lacking chemistry. And this book is very goofy which isn’t my taste, it was jsut hard to get into the story when it is so ridiculous. I can see others loving it, but it didnt fit my expectations

Beautifully drawn and a great story - just what I was hoping for from this graphic novel! Ben, a recent college grad, is trying to find a writing job and keeps getting rejected. His roommates and friends are all having more success than he is, and he's worried he'll have to move out if he can't find work. But her serendipitously sees a "now hiring" sign in a restaurant with the magic words "No experience necessary," which he welcomes after being rejected from 17 writing jobs for having no professional experience. A cute sous chef, a weird manager/head chef, and a quirky staff (including a taste-testing pig), and the challenge of building on his basic cooking skills has Ben engaged in a way that he wasn't expecting. Afraid to disappoint his parents, who have pushed him to find work as a writer, he lies and says he's found a copywriting job. As he continues through the cooking challenges that will help him secure the restaurant job, he ignores his parents, struggles to balance the new job and his friendships, and tries to figure out if cute sous chef Liam is also gay and if so, is he as into Ben as Ben is into him? With the help of a little romance, friends, and a challenging career opportunity, Ben ultimately works toward figuring out not only who he is but also who he wants to be.

Chef’s Kiss. Was beautifully illustrated with a meaningful plot line. The casts was well rounded in ethnicity and sexuality.

I enjoyed watching each characters achievements grow even though our main focus was on Ben’s journey and figuring out his path of after college.

The hint of romance throughout the book leading to the Big Bang at the end was so we’ll paced and not over done.

Overall I’d read this again and any that came to follow it.

The only downfall is that some the lines seem very stiff. And just needs some tweaking.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Chef's Kiss is a graphic novel where Ben, the main character, has to find his way after college. He starts looking for a job related to his passion for reading and writing, but since he has no luck he decides to take on the challenge and to start working at a restaurant. It turns out he has some talent in the kitchen and he really enjoys cooking. I really appreciated how Ben stood up for himself and spoke his mind about what he wants to do, it was really important.
I was expecting a bit more romance, not gonna lie, but what we got was still cute.

Ben is moving into a new apartment with three friends. All of them are trying to find their way in life. Three of them just graduated college and two of them have new jobs. Ben just graduated with a writing degree and spends a week interviewing but everyone wants experience. How is he supposed to get experience if no one will hire him? On his way home, discouraged, he sees a sign in a window for help wanted with no experience needed so he goes in to see about it. Turns out it's a job for a restaurant cook and the sous chef just happens to be Ben's type. The rest of the story follows Ben's journey trying to decide what he wants to do. It's a great story for anyone who has just graduated because they will be in the same boat as well. The illustrations were really good and easy to follow. I was interested in this title to see if it would work in my YA collection. While it wouldn't hurt I think the mention of bongs by one of Ben's roommate's is a bit inappropriate. All the swearing is censored and there's nothing else inappropriate.

This was a really cute story with really cute art. I do wish the characters had been a bit more fleshed out, but over all this was some great fluffy gay romance.

I requested "Chef's Kiss" because I really loved the cover art style and when I read the synopsis I was ecstatic not only at the themes it would feature but the fact that there was a gay main character comfortable with his identity, which I found really refreshing.

If you are looking for a cute queer read, a beautiful graphic novel or just something fast and uplifting, you should definitely pick this up.

Chef's Kiss follows a recently graduated college student that after finding it impossible to be hired without any kind of experience or resorting to nepotism, starts working at a restaurant as a chef in training. There he meets a great group of passionate people, a grumpy boss and a possible crush which makes him start questioning the future he thought he wanted.

Along with the more serious themes such as the pressures of being a young adult struggling to balance a personal life, do meaningful work and find themselves at the same time, what I really liked in this book was how the main character was surrounded by such good people and how all these characters supported each other and forgave one another whenever one of them fell short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for this DRC.

Rating: 4/5

This was a cute short NA read for me! I loved the dynamic between the friend group and how all the characters were introduced and given a good detailed description to them. I also loved how the two main characters' tension slowly built but wasn't overbearing in the plot. It was a slight simmer throughout the whole book. Overall a cute light read for us LGBTQ+ new adult folks. Would recommend for something cute, quick & light! 4/5

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right? 
Chef's Kiss is a cute and funny story about figuring out what you love in life and going for it. It is also very realistic when it comes to showing how it feels to be a recent college graduate dealing with the stress and expectations of starting adult life. A must read if you need a wholesome mm romance, supportive friends, and great art!

I wanna thank NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Chef’s Kiss is an adorable graphic novel filled with corny jokes, great art, queer rep, and an all around good time. This book gave me Sunday paper’s comics feel with better rep. There were also some relatable and serious issues addressed in a light an easy to digest way. I’m excited for the release of this graphic novel and hope to see more soon :) I would love stories about the friends lives as well as more about Ben and Liam!

[4.5/5]
With beautiful art and an amazing (and diverse!) cast of characters that made me love this story since the first page, Chef’s Kiss was probably one of the cutest comics I’ve ever read.
It features the best taste tester and head of quality to ever exist: Watson, a beautiful and supportive friend group, and an absolutely adorable and lighthearted romance.
The only thing i need to point out is that the main conflict would be very relatable if it weren't for the fact that Ben was able to make his choice without having to think more than once about the financial aspect of it which made it a little difficult to relate to and empathize with him when it came to his “career crisis”.
Overall I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it!

After weeks of contemplating the cute cover of this graphic novel, I finally requested it from NetGalley. I’m glad I did! The book was as cute as the cover made me expect it would be. The story is slight - Ben has graduated college, looking for work, finds a restaurant where he fits in, despite his original plans to be a writer. The story is a nice. Owing of age tale of a boy/man learning to make his own decisions. The romance is nice, a tad slow, but overall very cute. Some weird choices marred the book from being perfect for me. The stoner roommate character detracted from every scene he was in - he added nothing to the plot and was just overall terrible. The pig-as-food critic idea was kinda neat, but the scene where he is smoking a cigarette as a shorthand way of saying he was having a food orgasm fell completely flat. Overall, a book long on cuteness, if a tad short on substance.