Incredibly fun and delightful story! Many of our students truly enjoy baking so this was a job to read. It'd my first time learning about a culinary historian and I learned a lot while reading this! Wonderful read with great story telling. Highly recommend!

Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster was absolutely wonderful! I always love books that include cooking and this book did not disappoint. I also learned something new - I never knew culinary historian was a thing. I cannot wait to share this book with my children when it is published.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an early copy in return for an honest review.

I have a number of students who enjoy cooking/baking and I think they will enjoy this aspect of the book. I will admit that I had never heard of a culinary historian but I am quite interested in learning more about this job...and learning more about the history of food! There is also a mystery to solve and I will admit that my prediction was incorrect. Overall, an enjoyable story that I look forward to including in my classroom library.

Delightful, delightful, delightful!
I loved every minute reading this book.
I received an ARC of Alice Flecks Recipe for Disaster from NetGalley and am so happy I did. Lovely characters, a fun story and just a joy to read.

It's been just Alice and James, her single parent father, since Alice was born. The two of them love to cook together. James is a culinary historian, so they delve into recipes from the past and recreate different dishes. Hana, James' girlfriend, videotaped them cooking medieval peacock pie. Unbeknownst to them, she sent a copy of it to Culinary Chronicles, a cooking show on the History channel that Alice and her father love. It's being set during a Victorian Festival that Hana is part of. They have been accepted.

Alice reluctantly agrees to being on the show because she admires Mei-Ling, the supportive host of the show. Besides, other kids don't even know about Culinary Chronicles, never mind watch it. Gladstone Manor, where everything is taking place, is a refurbished castle. Alice figures it might not be such a terrible week after all.

The morning of the first day of taping, the participants are gathered together and informed that the show has been purchased by a reality tv channel. Some drastic changes have made. No longer will it be a friendly non competitive show. Culinary Chronicles has become Culinary Combat. Mei-Ling is gone and has been replaced by a narcissistic, semi-famous reality TV star. They've brought in a food judge infamous for his insistence on perfection and vitriolic remarks. Still, Alice and James decide to continue.

While at the festival Alice makes friends with Tavi and Henry, a couple of kids about her age. Tavi goes to historical reenactments with her folks all the time and enjoys wearing historical costumes. Henry plans to become a detective just like his hero, Sherlock Holmes. The trio realize that someone is sabotaging the show and set out to find out who.

It turns out that the week away, participation in the show, and making new friends are the impetus for all kinds of changes for Alice. By the end of the book she's become more comfortable being herself and accepts that Hana is going to be a part of their life.

I liked the humour and authenticity of this book. It's a delight to read about the relationship between Alice and her father. Alice's complicated feelings towards Hana feel realistic. I appreciated learning more history of Victorian England. I liked that while the TV show was set up to be antagonistic, the contestants themselves were actually friendly and supportive towards each other.

I was fascinated by all the the cooking details revealed in the book. My only complaint is that there are no recipes to accompany it. Maybe I will never make peacock pie or Charlotte Russe, but I would loved to have seen the recipes included.

Warning! At the end of this book you might want to dig out your stand mixer and start to cook.

I read this book for the first time with a small group of my students, they had a lot of fun and enjoyed the book. I combined it with a brief baking activity and a "How to assignment". I look forward to getting a physical copy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and got the mystery wrong! I loved how engaging the book was. It was not predictable like most kids books. I hope this becomes a series.

Alice and her father have a cozy life in their town home near campus, where he is a professor of culinary history. The two often cook together from vintage recipes, and Alice doesn't really miss her archaeologist mother who was not up to the task of raising her. She's not thrilled that her father is dating Hana, another historian, even though Hana is a lot of fun. When Hana submits a tape of Alice and her father to a cooking competition, Culinary Chronicles, and they are accepted to a competition being held during a Victorian celebration at Gladstone Manor, Alice doesn't really want to be on camera, but agrees in order to make her father happy. Soon the three are off to the country to cook up a storm and enjoy the celebration. When they arrive, however, they find that Alice's favorite host won't be there and will be replaced by the polemic Tom Truffleman, who renames the show Culinary Combat and regularly insults competitors, especially Alice, since he doesn't think that children can cook. Alice and her father have solid cooking skills, but there is clear sabotage going on. With the help of other children who are there with their families, Alice manages to not only survive the competition but also help to solve the mystery of the sabotage. She also learns to make some peace with enlarging her family to include Hana.
Strengths: This was a very fun book that included all manner of interesting information about Victorian cooking and life, set in an elaborate country house. It felt a little bit like the Agatha Raisin books for adults by M.C. Beaton. The fact that Hana was behind the whole event made it a great time for Alice to reevaluate how she felt about her father moving on with his life, and I appreciated that Hana was a very fun character. The other children made this more fun for Alice, and the mystery was a bit of a welcome surprise.
Weaknesses: I was absolutely sure there was going to be a murder, so was little disappointed that the only mystery was the sabotage. The situation with Alice's mother didn't seem very realistic.
What I really think: I was glad to see that this Canadian title is available through Follett Library and will definitely be purchasing for my readers who love cooking oriented books! Also, I really wish I could have been a culinary historian! I don't like to cook, but I love reading vintage cook books.

This was a book that was a free read on Netgalley. It seemed like a book my students would enjoy, so I opted to try it. I was pleasantly surprised at how well I liked the story and would gladly purchase and/or read other books from this author and with these characters for my classroom library.
The relationship between Alice and her dad showed growth and a mutuat respect and understanding for each other throughout the story. Alice had to make some changes in the story in order for things to get better in her life. She had to learn to be open to change in herself and allow for new people in her life. The element of mystery introduced in the story helped move the story but also created a sense of intrigue for the reader. As in all mysteries, it is like a race to see if you can figure it out before the author gives you the answer. Needless to say I did not figure it out in this book and was pleasantly surprised.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with some good historical references and stories within the story.

What an adventure! I really enjoyed following Alice through the ups and downs of this glimpse of her life that us readers get to see. From the beginning, I knew she was a relatable girl. Although I am not her age anymore, I remember the feeling I felt when I got my first phone and all the other teenage-y type feelings that come with it.

Alice’s love for cooking with her father and her reluctance of being on Culinary Combat provided a large obstacle already. Add on the girlfriend, frequently unexpected changes in schedule, and a possible saboteur...there is no way to be bored in this book!

As the book continues, Alice makes some friends at the Victorian festival and they work together as they try to solve the mystery of the saboteur. As she struggles with her relationship with her dad and his girlfriend throughout this time, it was lovely to see how her friends were able to be such a supportive bunch (and distraction)!

Despite the eventual strain between father and daughter, I enjoyed the dynamic between these two a lot! You can tell that they’re very close despite him being basically a single parent. They have a healthy relationship in which he seems to give her the perfect balance of flexibility and independence while still being an authority figure.

Overall, this book is a great choice for those who enjoy reading about realistic and relatable issues for kids, adventure, and mystery. Although Alice struggled a bit navigating through her own shyness and acceptance of a new person in her life, her growth throughout the book is a story of positivity and resilience!

This adorable novel features a quirky and fun heroin who engages and silly adventures all while growing into a greater version of herself. I love the single father explanation, and that the kids in the story are strong and smart without being annoying and stereo typical.
It’s fun to watch Alice grow mature naturally over the course of the story - nothing felt forced or manipulated.
I’d love to see a spin-off with Tavi as the lead ... she was my favorite part of the novel! I almost felt like you didn’t even need Henry (Tavi could have been the “detective”), but I guess the idea of having a male friend is meant to balance the kids’ relationship.

What an absolutely wonderful middle grade novel! As someone who reads middle grade novels all the time for my job as a middle school teacher, I can honestly say I haven't come across a book with such a unique and fun concept like this in awhile! I can honestly see so many of my students enjoying Alice Fleck’s Recipe for Disaster. It is full of fun characters and plenty of trouble along the way!

This was an absolutely delightful middle grade read. It's like the author, Ms. Rachelle Delaney knows exactly just what I like! (aka cooking and mystery all rolled up into one). I loved it all! Alice was such a relatable character, especially learning about how she copes with her father dating. Her emotions were very relatable and I really liked how she opened up to Tavi. And the mystery was such a twist! I didn't think that mystery would be incorporated, but it was and incredibly well at that. I don't think there was much to criticize at all. I liked the end reveal, very Scooby-Doo like.

This book tells the story of Alice Fleck, a twelve-year-old girl who likes to cook with her dad, who is a culinary historian. And when they agree to participate in a cooking reality show, they get involved in a web of mysteries and sabotage, which the girl and her newly acquired friends are determined to unmask.

I wish I could travel to the future, buy this book when it’s published and go back in time and gift it to my twelve year old self. This book made me cry, laugh and understand some things that I had not yet been able to overcome. Letting new people enter your heart is difficult, because you give them the opportunity to leave you, but if you don't risk it, you don't experience anything. This book hit me on a different level, I never would have believed that I would be able to connect so much with a children's book. It's beautiful.

Also, all the historical data filled my heart with emotion.

When Alice and her dad get roped into a cooking show on reality TV at a Victorian festival, little did she know what challenges she would face. When they get to the show, Alice and her dad find the show’s name, the judge , and the host have all changed. Nothing seems like what it is. As Alice makes friends who aren’t on the cooking show, one boy insists something sneaky is going on. Is it his imagination or is there really a saboteur among them? As Alice faces many challenges, she learns to be herself and that she can be brave when needed. All kinds of Victorian bits of history made this a fun read.

A gentle mystery set in a cooking competition. Alice and her father, a food historian, team up on some Victorian recipes for a reality TV show. But the recipes are not the only challenge- a saboteur is at work. Alice has her hands and mind full, tackling unusual dishes, accepting her father’s new girlfriend, and learning that what makes her a bit odd also makes her special.

Alice Fleck has two main loves in her life: her father and food. Her dad is a culinary historian and cooking is how they bond and connect. They recreate dishes of ages past for fun. When they are not in the kitchen, they are watching their favorite cooking competition show, or reading dusty cookbooks full of esoteric recipes and gastronomic facts. They have a routine, and Alice has settled into it comfortably.⠀
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Until her father's new girlfriend shuffles into their lives and proceeds to shake everything up. Alice has trouble adjusting to sharing her father's attention with a veritable stranger — an irritation that is only aggravated when Hana, the new love interest, signs Alice and her dad up to compete in the latest season of 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, their favorite show, taking place in a nearby fancy estate (which also happens to be hosting a Victorian festival).⠀
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Cooking in a competitive environment is more than enough change for the Fleck's. Once they arrive, though, they are further distressed to find that the wholesome, good-natured cooking show they both know and love has been completely overhauled, now styled as yet another cutthroat cooking competition, judged by an infamous chef known for his biting, ruthless remarks.⠀
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The contest is soon underway, but a series of consecutive mishaps with the competitors leads Alice and her newfound friends — budding detective Henry Oh and spirit enthusiast Octavia Sapphire — to suspect sabotage, and take it upon themselves to solve the perfidious plot before it threatens to ruin not only the show itself, but potentially Alice's relationship with her dad.⠀
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Culinary history! Cooking competitions! Historical festivals! Victorian ghosts? Sherlock Holmes?? Bartitsu??? Mysteries! ⠀
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If all that sounds like a lot — it's because it sort of is! Mixing just one or two of those elements would have been enough to cook up a fun middle grade adventure, but author Rachelle Delaney daringly decided to go big or go home and opted to just throw every single thing into the broiling pot.⠀
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It's a move that would easily overwhelm any other story — and indeed if there is one criticism I can give this book is that the first half, which introduces most of these pieces almost all at once, feels a bit overstuffed — but, like any decent chef, Delaney manages to make something delightful out of all these seemingly incompatible ingredients. 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 is a charming concoction, full of clever, charismatic characters, and I had a blast reading it.

This was really cute! It wasn't the best middle grade book about cooking/baking I've read (I think titles like Measuring Up, Summer of a Thousand Pies, or Midsummer Mayhem tackle baking/cooking better), but this one definitely stands up on its own. I like that Alice's father is a food historian, so readers get weird random food history facts that are super fun. Unfortunately, my own mother was not interested in hearing about mustache cups, go figure.

What made this book noteworthy and special was the mystery of the competition's saboteur. I liked following along as the crew tries to find out if there's something fishy going on or if it's all coincidence, investigating potential suspects, etc.

At some points, the story seemed maybe a bit scattered or simple, but this book is actually written for kids, and not old folks like me. I think kids will still like those bits, so it's a great book.

Super super cute story! The characters are young but well written and interesting even to grownups. I read this with my kids and they loved hearing about the Victorian history and trying to figure out whodunnit. This book has the potential to be a great series and we really hope it is!

I adored reading about Alice's adventures in cooking! Alice Fleck is 12-year-old sous-chef to her father, James Fleck. James is a culinary historian, meaning he studies the history of food. Together they make historically accurate food and watch Culinary Chronicles, the nicest cooking show on TV. Everything was going great until James met Hana Holmes, a historian who studies the Victorian era and James’ new girlfriend. Alice’s friends say that Hana is as cool as an adult can be, but she does not see it. When Hana comes over for dinner, things only get worse when she tells them that she has signed them up to compete on Culinary Chronicles. The show ends up being more than they bargained for, but Alice and her dad persevere. Alice meets some sweet new friends and learns to not be ashamed of her interests/who she is. This is a great story with a lot of important messages for young minds.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Puffin Books for the e-ARC!