I adore this book!! It was so sweet and fun! I love Sadie and I love the Jewish rep so much! I loved the setting of a food network type show!

Lately, I have been very keen on watching cooking shows (maybe to try to motivate myself to WANT to cook? I wish) but shows like Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay has been my ultimate de-stressor. And then picking up this novelized GEM of a cooking show was... a chef kiss. Fans of Food Network, add this to your TBR immediately!

As you can see from the synopsis there is a meet-cute, blooming romance that gets cut short due to a conflict of interest as he judges the show. I anticipated a clandestine forbidden romance (a la one of my FAVS, The Charm Offenssive). But was actually pleasantly surprised that this actually was much more Sadie and cooking-focused than romance-focused. While I didn't hate the romance, I honestly don't even think the book needed it.

There was an amazing, diverse cast of side characters competing on the show, to the point I was legitimately sad that a side character got eliminated off this novel version of a cooking show! I enjoyed the bit of tongue-in-cheek about reality shows. I appreciated how detailed the show, the dishes, the cooking process, and the reactions were written. I think Elliot found the perfect balance and I appreciated that there wasn't a "skip forward" section. Each new food description made me hungry.

The writing occasionally veered towards feeling chaotic. There is a lot of stream of conscious thinking from Sadie to just the very relatable mental tangents we all take in our heads. One section where she is contemplating "currying favor with the judges" turns to "not the good kind of delicious curry" to "I'm hungry and curry sounds good." So, sometimes it felt a bit much but mostly it made me laugh and feel like I was in someone's actual head. I can see this not being everyone's cup of tea, it was a bit silly at times.

Honestly, this book just brought me JOY. I think anyone who is a fan of cooking competitions will eat this up. It is super cute and well-executed. I wish there was just more of Luke or the romance plotline but even then I wasn't too mad because that may have taken away from the cooking.

Thank you Berkley and Amanda for this eARC for my review.

2.5⭐

I just want to start off by saying that this low rating isn't because this book was BAD. It just wasn't the book I was expecting and I didn't particularly enjoy my time reading it. This rating is based purely on my own personal enjoyment... or lack there of 😬

This book pitches itself as a rom-com. And this DOES have an HEA. But you'd be hard pressed to convince me that this book is a romance. Because there is no actual romantic development in here. In fact the main characters barely speak beyond the first and final couple of chapters.

Instead, this book is mostly a play by play of the cooking competition. Which is exactly why I'm so picky about this trope. I personally don't enjoy cooking shows and I enjoy them even less in book form. While it's a fun backdrop for a romance, I found the show itself to be far too in depth. We had scene after descriptive scene of Sadie brainstorming, cooking, judging, reflecting, repeat. And after a while I just started skipping entire paragraphs because I didn't care about each individual recipe she made of the show. I was in it for the romance.

And in the end, there just really wasn't one. Yes they have their HEA but why do they like each other? Where was the connection? The build up? Instead they meet for an hour, we get endless scenes of cooking, and we jump a year in the future and bam, they're in love.

It just wasn't at all what I was looking for and found myself disappointed and bored for the majority of this book.

Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot is a a sweet and savory story, pun intended, as Sadie endures all the challenges thrown at her during a cooking competition. After losing her job as a chef, Sadie receives the call to participate and compete on a cooking show, similar to Top Chef; a genre I love watching. Sadie has always dreamed about owning her own restaurant; one where she can serve the Jewish cuisine of her ancestry. Watching Sadie integrate her background into cooking during the competition by bringing Jewish food to the forefront was very entertaining. Then there’s the love aspect of this story, Luke a half-Korean chef, who also dreamed about honoring and promoting his ancestors’ traditional dishes in the future. It felt like binge reading an exciting cooking show, rather than watching, having me rooting for some amazing characters, great mouth watering ethnic food combinations that represent the diverse characters within, and add a forbidden, sweet love story of chefs into the equation, this book turns into delicious feast you never want to miss. I highly recommend Sadie on a Plate to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

As a Top Chef fan, this book was so fun. While I like Padma and Tom more than their fictional counterparts, it was fun to recognize tropes from the show, but get that behind-the-scenes feel AND a romance. That being said, I wouldn't really classify this book as a romance. It is definitely just women's fiction with a dash of romance, which worked for the plot, but there wasn't enough connection between the lead and the romantic interest to make me care much about their romantic outcome. But if you're a food fan, this is certainly a fun read.

I finished this one last week and it was just as sweet (pun intended) as I wanted it to be.

Sadie is one heck of a good chef and when she losses her job in a Seattle restaurant, she decides to put it all out on the line and agrees to go on Chef Supreme, a cooking show. On her way to the show, she meets a swoon-worthy man, Luke, on the airplane. But when she finds out who he is, she must choose between her heart and career.

Sadie is known for her twists on traditional Jewish food. This book was filled with wonderful rep from great Jewish rep to LGBTQ+ rep. The conversations surrounding biases within the cooking world were great and all the cooking references left me hungry.

This is a cute rom com that I think a lot of people will love.

I really loved so much about this book! Sadie was a really interesting main character and I enjoyed watching her come into her own and really find her footing in her career. I loved the entire backdrop of the reality TV cooking show. I thought the details were so well done, everything from the recipes and food descriptions to the pressure of being in a competition environment. I really felt like I was there and in it with the group of chefs. I also thought all of the side characters were really well drawn and entertaining. My only complaint is this is not a romance. I really liked the relationship between Sadie and Luke but I wanted it to be more central to the story. I love reading women's fiction, and this one fits more into that category, I just don't like picking up a book expecting a romance only to find the love story takes backseat. But the writing was great and I would definitely read more from Amanda Elliot!

My favorite reality TV shows are always the cooking shows. And reading Sadie on a Plate is like watching a great cooking show. Of course, I was rooting for Sadie throughout.

Sadie is at a low point in her career when she gets invited on Chef Supreme. We see all sorts of amazing food with detailed descriptions (so have snacks prepared). There's an especially strong focus on Sadie's dishes which are adaptations of Jewish food. The food made my mouth water, and I would love to try any of Sadie's dishes.

There is a mild forbidden romance, but it's not the point of the story. The journey that Sadie goes through is one about food, friendship, and finding herself.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

I wish we had more romance. I wish we had forbidden kisses, moments, sneaking off more. This was more cooking show than romance. But I did love the behind the scenes of the show. I love Master Chef so I felt like I was getting a sneak peak. I loved the show drama, all the food talk, and Sadie was a fun character!

Do not read this book while hungry! Seriously. I was drooling over all the food mentioned in this delightful book.

Although it is a romance, it's more about Sadie's journey on a reality TV cooking show. I really liked Sadie. I wish Luke had more page time, but it would not have been logical for him to have any more than he did. (And he made the best of it, I must say!)

I have to say, the editing was very well done. It skipped through boring parts, and knew which moments to stay and lay out in detail. Writing a book set during a reality TV show is no joke. It can get boring so fast.

The stakes got pretty high and I got very stressed at some parts, but I applaud Elliot for how she made everything come together in the end. I look forward to more of Elliot's work.

Sadie on a Plate was another winner for me! It takes place at a cooking competition, and the romance really takes a back seat to Sadie’s personal journey on the show. Sadie’s inner voice was so relatable – partially herself criticizing everything she did and partially the voice of her Jewish grandmother. Sadie cooked twists on Jewish food and I want her recipes! I really enjoyed reading about the cooking show and getting to know the contestants. My one complaint was how Sadie insisted her food was Jewish, but not kosher, as that is something different. The truth is that all Jewish food should be able to be made kosher! So if Sadie opens her upscale Jewish restaurant, I would love for it to be kosher so all Jewish people could enjoy it! I loved this quote: “…we have thousands of years of cuisine on offer. And so many different kinds! We were part of the diaspora for so long, living in places as diverse as India and Yemen and Italy and Poland for thousands of years, and each community developed their own cuisine, and then they all came together again in Israel and America and fused with each other…” Love it.

If you enjoy cooking shows or books about cooking food in general, this is the book for you! Amanda Elliot dishes up the perfect romcom with Sadie on a Plate and I read it in under a day because I was so invested in the story! I can't wait until March comes because I'll be grabbing a print copy of this one for my shelves!

Perfect rom-com for any foodie and romance lover. I loved Sadie and Lukes story. The most epic meet cute. Definitely recommend and predict it will be a huge success. Love!

Watch me live interview with Amanda Elliot: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/f27e1ef0-faa3-42f4-99cc-1c43fa19bc7e?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

Every medical student develops an obsession while studying for our board exams. It is a necessary coping mechanism that allows us to survive four grueling weeks of cramming. There was the girl that was constantly in the gym, listening to audio review books. The guy that stalked airline mile websites to fund his post exam trip. And then there was me and

I watched Iron Chef, Chopped and Cake Wars with abandon. A textbook was perpetually in my lap and a souffle was always up on the screen. I dreamed of cakes cleverly disguised to look like anything but cake. Baskets full of mystery ingredients that somehow coalesced into a cohesive dish. It wasn’t particularly healthy, but it got me through. Because ever since I was a little girl watching Yan Can Cook on the public broadcasting network, food has been my happy place.

It was therefore a forgone conclusion that I would enjoy Amanda Elliot’s first adult romance, Sadie on a Plate. Set in a reality TV show where the contestants vie for the title of Chef Supreme – and the investment dollars that come with it – the book follows Chef Sadie as she attempts to claim the title and rehabilitate her reputation following a disaster at her last chef job. The complication? Luke Weston, the incredibly hot judge that Sadie accidentally met on the flight over.

Luke is a great love interest – sensitive and sweet- and Sadie is a voicey, scrappy main character, but their relationship is almost secondary to the relationships Sadie develops between the other contestants. They are diverse and realistically drawn, each having their own complete character arcs both in terms of romance and personal growth. I have no idea how she balanced it all, but everyone from Sadie’s frenemy Katilyn to the audience members that routinely got Sadie’s worst plates, had a fully rounded narrative. And they work well with each other. Much like the ingredients on Sadie’s plates.

And then there’s the food. Pages and pages of luscious, gorgeous, mouth watering descriptions of Jewish food. Sadie explains several times that cooking Jewish food does not have to be limited to cooking kosher food. She creates new takes on such Ashkenazi favorites as gefilte fish and chopped liver. Never in my life did I think liver could actually sound tasty, but it did. In fact, my favorite line of the book comes at 90% (according to my e-reader) when Sadie answers why Ashkenazi food relies heavily on certain ingredients. I will not spoil her answer for you, but I will tell you that I cackled so hard I scared the other people in the room.

If there is to be bonus content, I sincerely hope it includes a recipe book.

I passed my boards long ago but I still enjoy some Food Network every now and again. I love creating mini chopped competitions in my home and disguising cupcakes to look like anything but cupcakes. I’ve even made Shabbat desserts for every weekly Torah portion. So trust me when I tell you, this book is full of great food and drama. In short, I’m obsessed with it.

~I posted this to both goodreads and my blog~

Can't decide on a star rating. Between 3.5-4 ?

This was cute but I would not consider this a romance. This was more womens fiction (?) with a veryyyyy light side of romance- my expectations going in were very different. A great story and I loved the Jewish rep.

If you love food and/or fine dining and/or top chef type shows, you should try this. Very, very small focus on the romance IMO.

I made it to 20% and chose not to finish it. I wasn’t invested in the MC or the premise enough to continue.

Unfortunately, I DNF’d because I couldn’t handle Sadie she feels incredibly spoiled. This is a book I’d maybe give a second chance to but something was off putting about her crying as soon as her dad asked if going on tv was a good idea.

💁🏻‍♀️Overall Impression: this book was really cute and is Top Chef in romance book form

Synopsis: after being fired from her sous-chef position, Sadie gets a lucky break by becoming a contestant on Chef Supreme. But when the cute guy she meets on the plane happens to be a judge, things get a bit dicey. 🔪

💭Thoughts: As a whole, I really enjoyed this book. It’s more of a woman’s fiction but written with a romance on the side.

I really loved how the book started. The first chapter is hilarious, lots of nudity 😂.

Then, I loved the meet cute between Sadie and Luke. You got to really see their connection fairly quickly. Sadly, you didn’t get to see enough of them together throughout the story.

That’s really my only critique of this story is that there’s not enough of them together. And I don’t mean like sexy together, but like, I wanted more stolen conversations, or quick touches, or sweet gestures that no one else would know.

This book features a lot of cooking, a glaze of Jewish culture, and is sprinkled with self discovery.

Thanks so much to @netgalley and @berkleyromance @berkleypub for the advanced copy. ❤️ (Review to be posted to IG closer to PubDay.

Ok if you are a Top Chef fan this one is a must, it felt exactly like binge watching an entire season of the show! I mean to a tee, you follow Sadie from beginning of the show all the way until the end and it’s just as exciting and tense as watching episodes, maybe even a bit more fun actually. The food descriptions alone were to die for so make sure you have plenty of snacks handy when you start this, you’ll definitely be hungry and the Jewish flair Sadie brought to each and every plate was so so fun! I’m no expert on Jewish cuisine at all but reading about Sadie’s modern takes on old classics made me drool and had me wishing she was a real life friend so she could cook for me. Despite my love of the food angle I also really liked Sadie as a character as well, she was funny and quirky and easy to root for. My small and tiny complaint is that I wanted more romance, I get Luke and Sadie had to hide their feelings for each other but I definitely was hoping for some more of that aspect. But overall a super fun read that was a love letter to Top Chef!

This was a sweet and savory story (pun intended).

I really enjoyed watching Sadie’s progression through the competition, and how she slowly developed more self-esteem in her chef abilities.

It was fun to progress through the competition with the characters and see all the challenges. I loved how Sadie incorporated her background by bringing Jewish food to the forefront. It was lovely getting that Jewish rep in a different way.

The little bit of romance was nice. It wasn’t the focus of this story but I enjoyed it none the less.

Overall a fun book and I really enjoyed and would definitely recommend.

[cw - revenge porn]