This was a sweet delight of a story. The characters, even the minor ones, were lovely, especially all of Ben's friends (both old and new). I especially loved the pig food critic---truly a pig after my own heart. The book is pretty light in the romance department, but I think it worked well for the book, which was a lot more about Ben's development as a person and navigating his life after college and balancing the various relationships in his life.

The depictions of food and cooking were really well done---definitely made me want to dine at a restaurant ASAP.

The story and illustrations came together nicely to tell a fun, cute story. The struggles faced were all too relatable, which made the book even more enjoyable. Really worth the read.

Oh my heart, this was SO FREAKING CUTE and I was so invested in these characters! Ben is absolutely the softest, most precious little bean, and I loved his friends, too. The entire cast of characters at the restaurant were delightful, whether it's Emi's weirdness or Liam's general perfection or Chef Davis' hilarious banter, yelling, and stories about Watson. And can we talk for a moment about how cute Watson the Taste-Testing Pig is?!

Seriously, this was one of the cutest, most wholesome graphic novels I've read in a while, and the characters and story sucked me in so fully that I was genuinely on the edge of my seat during the big "tense moment" near the end (will he/won't he? if you've read this, you know!). I'm going to need a finished copy of this cutie for my shelves because this strikes me as the kind of funny, feel-good queer rom-com I'm gonna reach for time and time again.

✨ Representation: Ben and Liam are both gay, there are multiple BIPOC side characters

✨ Content warnings for: vague homophobia from parents, pressure & guilt trips from overbearing parents, stress about unemployment (hide spoiler)

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

I did not know what I was getting into in this book but I actually quite enjoyed it. I think it's an important topic about how to find out what to do with your life once your education ends and you have to become an "actual adult." Following your own passions, understanding that you may have more than one passion and that is ok, and how to manage your own friend group and close relationships when your whole world changes and they have to change with it.

Parts of it were a little cheesy but all in all, I really enjoyed all of the relationships and friend group members. I love Watson. He is the best. And Liam... <3 <3 <3

I loved this so much! So sweet and funny and cute! The flirting and best friend relationships are so good. And Watson the pig is such a fun addition. A must read for any fan of comics, romance and good food.

A cute story about a college grad trying to find his way. Ben has studied and planned to be a writer all his life. After college, however, he can't seem to find a position in his field. In the meantime, he takes a job at a restaurant and ends up finding a new passion (a possibly a new passionate relationship with cute chef Liam). When Ben's parents find out and issue him an ultimatum, Ben will have to decide which path he will pursue.

I found the characters likeable and the dilemma all too relatable. Navigating adulthood is tough, and deciding to do something completely new with your life can be daunting. My one nit pick would be that Ben's parents seemed to be a little one-dimensional--but their role in the story didn't require a ton of nuance.

This book feels like a warm hug, it’s such a sweet and mindful book that is such a comfort in this increasingly difficult to navigate world!

I found this simple and sweet graphic novel to be the perfect remedy for my traditional back-to-school reading slump.

The blossoming romance between Ben and Liam was delightful, if underdeveloped, and the porcine comic relief was absurd, yet endearing.

In other words, the bizarre creativity helped to balance this otherwise pleasantly predictable queer romance.

Danica Brine's illustrations are truly a feast for the senses, alternating between sumptuous and sensual.

I was hungry almost constantly, in more ways than one. Boy, do these men ever spend a lot of time shirtless.

My only criticism is that at times the dialogue was stilted and unnatural, but overall that is a minor grievance in an otherwise enjoyable graphic novel.

Chef's Kiss has worked its way into the lofty halls of my favourite LGBTQ+ graphic novels, where it now smuggly resides alongside Heartstopper, Check Please! and Bloom...coincidentally 2 of which also feature cooking and baking like Chef's Kiss, I must have a very niche taste!

The artwork is beautiful, the warm tones and intricate details compliment the feel of the story and its characters perfectly. The plot feels believable (even with the adorable food critic pig!) and will probably resonate with a lot of people's experiences of life after education.

Overall, a really comforting and joyful read that left me desperately craving a mushroom tart.

Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of a young man truly discovering his passion and maybe finding some love along the way. I truly enjoyed Chef’s Kiss. The cast of characters was fun and inviting but not so perfect that felt unrealistic. There were so many elements to this book that I did not see coming, but quickly got me invested in the story. Overall, this was gorgeous story with a fun cast of characters and all I can say was that it was truly a chefs kiss book.

I thought this was really cute! What I loved most about the book was the art style. It was appealing to the eye which kept me engaged, well laid out so it wasn't confusing, and there was a good amount of dialogue that was easy to follow along with and it didn't clutter up the panels. Store-wise, it's not going to be an immediate hot bestseller because it was pretty even keeled and was your typical college kid tries to please parents while doing something he doesn't want to when he finds something he wants to do and loves but risks parents disapproval story. I liked the characters and were a good support system for Ben. Liam was a dreamboat but wasn't that fleshed out aside from being kind, sensitive, and major eye candy. I mean, HELLO. Those tattoos? YUM. But most of all what I liked was that this story was Ben's journey and getting with the obvious love interest wasn't the major arc of the story but rather him finding his niche in life and what he enjoys.

I enjoyed this quite a bit - it was a refreshing little cupcake! A gay new adult graphic novel with a romance element, but it's more about a young man falling into a culinary career. The parents, I will say, seemed awfully cartoonishly evil - maybe that's just an artifact of me getting old enough to be closer to them in my timeline than to young people just out of college! Highly recommended, very sweet and charming.

This was a very cute sweet read with great drawings. Ben Cook is struggling after college with the existential question of following his parent's wishes of being a writer or pursuing other avenues after countless job rejections. This ends up with him trying to prove his worth in a restaurant with a very cute coworker.

I enjoyed this book and loved the drawings. It was a sweet, cute read but nothing more. I feel like it could have been longer with more in-depth characters and relationships. I barely knew who Ben was as a character or who were his friends or co-workers. There was some friend conflict that felt a little forced with a conclusion to that argument that felt way too textbook apology to be real. I wanted to know more about the past with his friends, who Liam was (it is bad I couldn't even remember his name and had to look it up), and the chiefs. I definitely enjoyed this book but it was very surface-level. It disappoints me because I loved how beautiful the illustrations were and the humor.

Tldr: a cute graphic novel with great illustrations, lacks depths it could have had.

A cute comic, a nice easy breezy read. I liked the plot, it felt very grounded and realistic. We can all relate to struggling to make a huge life decision and disappointing people in your life. Nice LGBTQ+ representation too.

Cute! For a book with "kiss" in the title, it doesn't spend as much time on the romance as I expected, but it's a nice story about Ben learning to make decisions for himself. And the pig is funny.

Chef’s Kiss is a slice of life comic that explores what it’s like to be a new grad on the job search — and coming up empty. It’s perfectly pleasant, with recipes that will make your mouth water, but unfortunately it doesn’t do much else. A quick, slightly boring read that spends a bit too much time on slightly odd tangents and not quite enough time on developing the romance.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely adored this sweet graphic novel. It is such a lovely balance between becoming an adult and finding your path and the meet-cute silly fantasy AU fic that makes your heart melt. I really enjoyed all the characters and hope to see future expansions on everyone!

This was adorable!

A very relatable modern story about a young writer trying to find a job - and more importantly a purpose - at the start of his career, that I think every young person (and not so young, like me) can enjoy. The art matched the style of the book well, being realistic with a slightly cartoony edge, and although we didn't spend much time with the side characters they still felt like they had their own lives off the page, rather than simply ciphers to move the plot along. I did feel the story moved too fast, and was too short, to really get to know anyone in greater depth however. I also wouldn't classify this as a romance, not because the developing relationship isn't sweet, but because I wouldn't want anyone expecting more to be disappointed in this very charming book.

Chef's Kiss is light and sweet like a freshly whipped meringue - not enough substance to get you full, but a delicious treat that certainly leaves you satisfied.

I'M SO HUNGRY. This book really just laid out all these yummy foods and I had to sit here and not have a single bite of any of it.

Chef's Kiss is so visually appealing, then you add the cute story, a pig, and a whole lot of food and there's very little to not like? I think the only thing I didn't like (besides the lack of food for me personally) was that I wanted so much more.

Ben and his friends have just moved into their own place and are all trying to find out what is next for them. Some of them have landed jobs after they graduated and others - Ben - are having a tough time finding work in their field. In a final attempt to look, Ben finds himself in front of a restaurant that has nothing to do with the English degree that he worked and studied so hard for, and suddenly everything sounds a little more promising. He meets Liam inside and after things go well, the chef aggressively puts him into a trial hire. If he passes the test, he may just have a job there. Ben struggles with the idea of pursuing this job despite his parent's expectations of him following through with a writing career but he loves food and you never know what may come up when you're not exactly looking for it!

I really just loved this a lot. I wish I had more constructive things to say about it but sometimes you don't have to say anything at all if something makes you that happy. I found this really enjoyable and I am glad it lived up to the hype I created around it in my head. I can't wait to buy this one!

Cute, and I completely resonated with Ben on the job search. Getting a career in the field you studied in is extremely hard right now. But while the book was super cute, it also was sort of surface level (a lot of graphic novels are though). Not my absolute favorite, but still a cute, quick read.