I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I have worked in kitchens before and am a huge fan of the show Bear and this book was a hit! It definitely covers some harder topics like drug addiction. The storyline is engaging, page turning, and fast paced. Read if you're looking for a great kitchen related read!

This is regina's story not queenie B's even though they are the same person regina she was a celebrity chef, no, she was the celebrity chef this book alternates between the past and a present day 2015........Gale is it up-and-coming line Cook at a restaurant he is also in recovery eighteen months clean, while down on his luck, he ends up in a soup kitchen. One bite and he knows that this is not standard seed kitchen fare - he ends up volunteering and working in the kitchen and learning so much from Regina. He has no idea that she is queenie B ( he knows nothing about queenie B period) while he is learning as much as he can, Regina, is also remembering how much she loves to cook. How much she loves to create. Gail is struggling though having a hard time staying clean, having a hard time with this past having a hard time with his guilt his friend enters his filled out application to a reality cooking competition show called cut ( think chopped) with queenies help He has a shot to win this thing- can Gale do it? Can he work through this past? And get the future, he deserves can you let go of the mistake She made and start again the secondary group of charactersKyle, Marco,Gale's mom lucy, burger queen oh so many more, are great additions to the story also learned alot of things about cooking and restaurants that was interesting-

Every fan of the Food Network or The Bear needs to read this book now! It's so charming with wonderfully written characters and a few surprises along the way. It delves into complicated relationships and serious situations. Many of the characters are very flawed, but also likable. I couldn't put it down. Would also make a great book group read. There's plenty to discuss.

I found this book because I look at Netgalley every month to post some upcoming books on the Foodies Read link up page. I like to get ones of different genres. I decided to give this one a try and I’m so glad I did. It was wonderful.

Regina used to be a celebrity chef with all the bad behavior that went with that. Now she is redeeming herself by living under her real name and using her money to fund a small soup kitchen. She cooks by herself and pays some customers $20 cash to serve each meal. No one knows who she is. None of her former friends know if she is alive or dead.

When the regular server doesn’t show up, line cook Gale offers to help out that day. He knows the cook at the soup kitchen is obviously trained and skilled but her heyday was before he was watching cooking shows so he doesn’t recognize her. He ends up helping out more and more though in part because he is learning from her.

When Gale goes onto a cooking competition, Regina has to decide whether or not to help him practice. She knows she can make him better. She also knows that this could potentially out her if anyone figures out who she is. The tabloids would love the story of a disgraced celebrity running a soup kitchen. They’d pay well for that story. They people around her would jump at that money.

This is a much deeper book than the rom-com type book that you might suppose it is from the cover. This is a story of found family, overcoming addiction, overcoming past bad behavior and the regrets that come with it, and finding your place in the world now. The writing drew me in and kept me reading late into the night. Even if you don’t care about food competitions or chef culture, there is still a lot here to love.

I did not like this book. DNF.


******************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.********************

I SO enjoyed this book! I was drawn in by description of two characters rebuilding their lives after self-created disasters, and DIDN’T YOU USED TO BE QUEENIE B more than delivered. Regina and Gale are richly drawn, interesting, thoughtful, flawed characters - it was a pleasure to get to know them and I appreciated how the author kept me guessing about what would happen next. And the secondary characters are just as good. This story does a great job of interweaving multiple mini-arcs into the plot without it ever becoming confusing. And as a non-foodie, I learned so much about why and how chefs build careers - what the creation of food means to them, and how it can be leveraged as a way to build - and rebuild a life. This is a great book for anyone looking for an encouraging read, and an excellent conversation starter for book clubs.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

What a touching, exciting and most of all perfect story!
Terri-Lynne DeFino has created characters to root for and tension to keep the pages turning. Gale is a down on his luck young man in recovery. He works hard in his restaurant kitchen job but needs to visit a soup kitchen to supplement his meals. The chef, Regina, creates amazing meals and Gale finds himself returning again and again.

Simultaneously we hear about Regiana "Queenie B's" back story. She has had quite the life!
If you love food, reality shows, kitchen stories and great characters - you cannot go wrong with this gem!
#williammorrow #didntyouusetobequeenieb #terrilynnedefino

Thank you William Morrow for this review copy, I really loved how rich this story was, filled with themes on self-growth, finding your own way, and for me a great example of found family tropes. DeFino's story rotates around the idea that if you forget who you are, or let others dictate it for you, you can still find your way back and can recreate your vision for your future. There are also elegant themes on forgiveness and the power of a mentor who really sees you and wants you to shine; I really loved how the relationship between Regina and Gale unfolded. particularly in such a thought provoking and important setting as a soup kitchen (vs just a restaurant).
The story is rich with well developed secondary characters, the kind of settings and descriptions that make you feel grounded in each scene, and perfectly paced to let the characters develop and the plot themes resonate.

i really enjoyed this book! A touching redemption story of a disgraced celebrity chef and her accidental, former addict protege. Combination of plot-driven and character-driven, it moved slow at first and picked up well as the story went on.
Defintely a "foodie" book but more so for the restaurant and kitchen workers. Delicious descriptions of the meals prepared sprinkled throughout.

As a reader, I found this book to be about changing one's being as to who they are perceived to be and who they actually are. A book about forgiveness as the characters continue to evolve such ad Gale and Sean. Yes, Regina was a star as she singlehandedly changed television shows featuring food. However, it was both an emotional and physical sacrifice. She lost love and family. She is the epitome that even as a designated queen with a captive audience that it was exactly that. Simply an audience who were not her friends. She evolved as Regina and in serving others in her soup kitchen, it showed that she was a loving and caring person. In her sobriety, she truly changed. That is how she was able to support Gale and recognize his true talents as a chef. Like his participation in Cut, he could imagine dishes that most could not. In this book, despite his relationship with Jenara that did not work out, he truly evolved into a person that liked himself. I would love to have a sequel when they go to Bova. In my book, they are both stars. A great read.

A great story that made me think about my past career and my future. I think the writing is easy to follow and DeFino knows how to create interesting dialogue and characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Didn't You Used to Be Queenie B? was a good book, which I saw after I'd seen the latest season of The Bear. While fiction, you feel like you are taking a peek into the back of the house of a celebrity chef. Told in alternating timelines, the author does a good job of this method (which happens to be one I enjoy.)
Queenie B has substance abuse issues, and we are taken through her path back "then," and "now." We are able to see the way her substance abuse affected her son, Julian.
It's witty, interesting, and a unique plot.
Kudos to the author. I recommend this book.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

For anyone who is interested in the culture of celebrity chefs, cooking competitions, and food in general, but also so much more, meet your new favorite book, Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?

The story alternates between present day (2015 - 2016) following young line cook Gabe as he tries to prove himself and move away from the shadow of his past, and 1999 until the book’s present day, following female celebrity chef and train wreck, Queenie B. Queenie is everything celebrity chefs can be known for, amazing food, a culinary kingdom, and a drug and alcohol problem. While Queenie’s perspective was the most fascinating part of this story, it’s also painful as her son Julian is impacted by her substance abuse both during her pregnancy and throughout his childhood, which continues to haunt Queenie.

Eventually we see Gabe meet Regina (a down to earth Queenie) and as the two find support in one another they learn some hard won lessons. The emotional component of this book is high but it also has a ton of humor and is more honest than I would expected. I was drawn in due to the cooking and chefs and this book taught me a lot in the chef speak lessons that start chapters, but this book delivered so much more. I highly recommend you pick this up and read it during a time when you can reflect on some pretty real life issues that are beautifully explored. Queenie/Regina, Gale, and all the colorful supporting characters in this story do some heavy lifting and it makes for a really great story.