Rating: 2.5 stars

As someone once binged Top Chef the the point it influenced her dreams, I am the kind of reader that should've loved this book. I love baking and (apparently) make snide comments under my breath, so Peyton is exactly the type of protagonist I should've connected with. Where There's a Whisk should've been a recipe for success, but instead I finished the book feeling underwhelmed and hungry for more.

Where There's a Whisk is all style and no substance. We're given the barebones of a story that reads more like an outline than anything approaching publication. If it were a contestant on a cooking competition, it would be the average home cook in a line-up of seasoned chefs. Judges would use words like "lacks creativity," "underseasoned," and "amateurish" to describe the story, and I can already hear the one persnickety judge bemoaning the need for "depth of flavor." The characters are bland, and the overall story is one-note. The book is, in my opinion, mistakenly categorized as young adult, but I think even middle readers have a sophisticated enough palate to want more.

There's a lack of focus as Schmitt tells the story, so the plot lacks any kind of meaningful direction. Ideas are introduced but never really developed, so it just feels like we have a bunch of half-baked plot points instead of a cohesive story. (I still don't know what the point of the Ellis island passage is supposed to be.) The descriptions of the competition, which take up most of the book, are heavily inspired by actual shows and aren't particularly exciting, The concept of Payton's past is never really explored, so her overall arc feels incomplete. Her friendship with Malik is virtually nonexistent after it's introduced until it's conveniently needed toward the end. The quirky humor which should've been so on brand for me feel flat. The descriptions of the food were the main reason I read this book, but even those were disappointing. I mean, at one point Payton actually makes fruit kabobs--fruit kabobs--for what is supposed to be a high-level cooking competition. All these disjointed pieces thrown together make the book's pacing horribly awkward and end up making Where There's a Whisk an extremely dissatisfying reading experience.

Because Schmitt spends so much time walking readers through the different parts of the competition, the characters end up taking a backseat. For a story that's ostensibly about self-discovery and friendship, you'd think more time would be spent developing some of the characters, but even Payton is pretty one-dimensional. The "romance" feels like it's just thrown in there and isn't particularly compelling since all parties involved are about as flavorful as stale white bread.

With its diverse cast, nods to Food Network competitions, and quirky humor, Where There's a Whisk had all the ingredients needed for a successful story, but with its lack of creativity and poor execution, it wouldn't make it past the appetizer round.

**I’d like to thank NetGalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I read a few intense books in a row and was looking for a palate cleanser. I picked up a copy of Where There’s a Whisk and it did not disappoint!

Peyton Sinclaire has just joined the cast of Top Teen Chef. If she wins, she gets a scholarship to the American Culinary Institute. If she loses, she goes back to her life as a diner waitress in small-town North Florida. Peyton is competing against a diverse cast of teen chefs from across the county in a variety of surprise cooking and baking challenges, many of which are inspired by the show’s New York City location. The reader is along for the ride as Peyton navigates drama on and off-screen to determine what is real and what is “made-for-TV” while also bringing her A-game to the competition.

Schmitt really captures the energy and atmosphere of reality TV. The reader plunges into the competition right from page one and that energy continues throughout. Sometimes the pacing was a little off, but overall Schmitt makes sure not to drag out the competition. I was worried the storyline might get repetitive, since reality cooking competitions have the same structure each episode, but Schmitt handles it very well. I absolutely loved hearing about the different challenges, especially the ones that were on location in NYC.

Where There’s a Whisk gets a solid four stars from me. It’s entertaining and you’re rooting for Peyton the whole time. I will say that the book is very plot-driven so there isn’t much character growth; however, given the reality TV setting, it wasn’t a deal breaker for me.

I would highly recommend Where There’s a Whisk for anyone in a reading slump looking for a light, fun read, for contemporary YA book lovers, and anyone who loves the energy of reality cooking shows.

So. I took over 4,000 words of notes for this book. That’s not really a good thing.

There is a really good, cute, quirky story here. It’s just buried under info dumps that rival wikipedia and surrounded in summaries that add nothing to the story. Which is a shame.

What this book delivers on in weird summaries about cooking and long internal monologues about how sad Peyton is all the time because she’s poor or whatever.

We never get a full picture of any of the cooking challenges. We might get an idea of the ingredients Peyton wants to use or one of the other dishes another contestant made but that’s it. We get a random, quick summary of who won and them we move on to the next sene. Usually of Peyton whining about how unfair it is that she keeps losing.

A lot of what I want to talk about is spoiler-y so I’m going to be as careful as possible.

There were so many aspect of this book that had me scratching my head and wondering why anyone bothered to include the details. There’s a private interview room that’s only used twice (once for non-interview purposes). The contestants seem to pick and choose when they care about the cameras watching their every move.

And the love triangle. OH GOOD HEAVENS THE LOVE TRIANGLE. It’s a joke. A literal joke. I hated everything about it. I didn’t like either of the boys all that much. I liked Peyton even less. She didn’t deserve either of those boys.

And I hated that this specific reality competition show was so focused on drama. So many aspects of the show had me rolling my eyes and hoping someone else caught on as soon as possible. Peyton hated how the show wanted to focus on her specific upbringing, but she never thought that maybe everyone was playing a role of some kind?

This review is going to be all over the place. I finished this a few days ago but I still feel annoyance to everything.

Let’s talk about the scene where I realized Peyton was selfish and didn’t care about anyone else. The show has the contestants do these Landmark Challenges. They go to an iconic place in NYC, have a tour, and are supposed to be inspired to cook something later. (I’ll complain about these ‘challenges’ later). For one of these challenges it’s to go up to a pretty high location and get a view of the city. One of the boys in the triangle tells Peyton that he is afraid of heights. Instead of sticking by the guy, offering support, or even just being a friend she decides to leave him alone because he looked like he needed it. Then later, when they’re preparing to start the tour she considers going to the guy but someone else steps in and offers support. Then THEN at the top of this landmark she still can’t go over to the guy and congratulate him on facing his fear or anything. Basically she NEVER says anything to him. BUT at every turn every single person is defending Peyton from the mean girl, or offering her words of encouragement, or telling her how great she is. But the ONE TIME someone needs her she’s selfish and keeps to herself.

That’s not even true. Peyton is selfish throughout the entire book. She hardly ever gives anyone encouragement or well wishes. She hardly cares what anyone else might be struggling with. She never goes out of her way to get to know anyone. She’s a horrible MC. I would have preferred the mean girl to be the MC. She actually had an interesting story line.

Also. There were so many weird things that were brought up then dropped and never spoken of again. At the very beginning of the book <spoiler> Malik </spoiler> and Peyton make a kind of silly pact to help each other to the finale. This is never mentioned. There is never any kind of bond between the two of them and when it is brought up it’s so late in the story you’ve probably forgotten about it.

Peyton is stupid. Straight up stupid. I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s supposed to be likeable and relatable, but she just isn’t. She’s poor. Fine. Nothing wrong with that. She whines all the time. That’s just annoying. She’s trying to keep her entire background a secret. That could have been relatable but by the time she finally opens up it’s so late in the book I don’t care any more.

Peyton basically thinks she can’t afford to leave her stupid poor town. She keeps whining that she has no future and she has to win the competition. It’s annoying. I would have had more respect for her had she been making plans and saving money and doing whatever to better her life. People move all the time. People go to new cities with no job and make things work. Peyton is just lazy.

Peyton is also an idiot because she hasn’t realized that the competition is a cooking competition. She hardly ever cooks (and if she wanted to bake everything why didn’t she enter a baking competition?) During two of the Landmark Challenges she doesn’t bother to do any research of exploring. She gets sidetracked by dumb things no one should care about. These pages of weird info dumps take valuable word space from the actual competition. I’d rather read three pages about the competition and what everyone made that three pages about lemurs or about an abandoned hospital. But, no. And of course, even thought Peyton used her time badly she still finds inspiration to make her dish.

Peyton can’t cook. Straight up can’t cook. For one of the rounds she makes fruit kabobs. That’s not cooking. Or baking. That’s something a literal child could construct. There is no skill there.

Peyton doesn’t have a functioning taste bud in her entire body (yes taste buds are in the mouth. I don’t care). Peyton puts weird-arse ingredients together and I’m pretty sure the only people who might find them appealing are pregnant ladies who have lost all control of their taste buds.

Peyton never should have made it as far as she did in the competition. She should have been eliminated the very first round. I said it. I’m not taking it back.

The thing is. Since we never see what happens during any of the challenges we have no idea what Peyton is up against. We have no idea if everyone else sucks as much as she does or if the show is rigging things to keep her on. It’s dumb. It’s beyond dumb. It’s infuriating that this book is pitched as a reality cooking competition with some coming of age lessons and you get none of that.

What should have happened:

Peyton should have bonded with someone who gets eliminated early on (maybe even first). This makes her hesitant to want to open up because she is ashamed of her family’s history. She needs to throw herself into the competition. She can practice a specific recipe she’s struggled with. Remake a dish that got bad marks. All while getting to know the other contestants outside the studio.

As Peyton slowly begins to bond with the other contestants we have the confessional. She’s poked and prodded into admitting things she doesn’t want to admit. This is where she begins to wonder if the show is manipulating everyone else, or just her? But she has nowhere ‘safe’ to talk to anyone else. She starts to pay a lot more attention to the other contestants and realizes that the mean girl isn’t always mean. That the player is kind. That the Hawaiian guy hates being the stereotypical guy in Hawaiian shirts, etc.

As Peyton learns more and grows closer to the two guys in the triangle she’s not sure who she likes more. Then she can stumble into the overheard phone call and play along with the producers ideas (no spoilers, if you read the book you know what I’m talking about).

As more contestants get cut the more Peyton is determined to learn all she can and prepare as much as possible for the next challenge. She has feelings for both boys and they both have some cute moments during the challenges.

The ending can more or less pay out the way it did in the book.

Basically I wanted a point to this book. It all seemed so weirdly paced and the descriptions were so off.

I think the book can be fixed. I think it’ll take a lot of work and a really critical eye. But right now it doesn't work for me in any way, shape, or form. I don’t care enough about Peyton to want her to succeed. I don’t believe the love story. I don’t think the cooking parts of the book are interesting enough to hold my attention.

But there is potential.


P.S. Please don’t ever serve rambutan raw (the seeds and skin are incredibly toxic). And why were we giving teens an ingredient that no one knew how to safely prepare. That sounds dangerous.

This was a cute, funny, wholesome story that I read in one afternoon. It tells the story of Peyton going through a Food TV teen cooking competition in which she could possibly win a culinary academy scholarship. Peyton coming from meager roots sees this as the only opportunity to get out of her hometown and make something more of her life. What she soon realizes is she had those tools all along and just needed to find the courage to use them and the cooking show has very little about how they can cook. The contestants and the reader enjoy a journey to the landmarks of New York city and the challenges of the competition. Friendships are made, romances started and some enemies are fought but in the end its about Peyton learning who she is, growing through the struggles she endures (and there are plenty) being the sweet, funny person she is and taking every opportunity she has. Can Peyton come to terms with where she comes from and be able grow from it or will she continue to be embarassed by it? I have already set this aside for my teenage daughter to read who is a budding young baker herself as I know she will love this book as much as I have. It will be an easy read for a novice or advanced YA reader; it's written well and throws some history lessons in there too. Thank you Sarah Schmitt and Perseus, Running Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Running Press Kids for the ARC!

All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so stinking cute! I absolutely adored it. We follow Peyton who wants to escape from her small town in Florida and become a chef. While she’s on Top Teen Chef, she realizes that the competition isn’t just about the cooking.

I loved the New York setting for this book. Reading how the characters were exploring the city made it feel like I was actually there with them.

Only thing that I didn’t like about this book was how unrealistic some of the challenges were, especially since we’re following teenagers.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It has romance, drama, and obviously food. If you’re looking for a sweet, fast paced read then I highly suggest picking this up. Book releases on October 5th!

Spoilers Ahead!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

3.5/5 stars.

At first glance, this book seems like its right up my alley: YA contemporary set on the backdrop of a Top Chef style (its literally called Top Teen Chef) cooking competition?! You are speaking my language!!! But sadly, it was lacking in flavor (pun intended). I was actually surprised to see the page count was 400 pages, because it didn't feel nearly fleshed out enough to be that long. Peyton was a great MC, and I really liked her, but I feel like we barely scratched the surface of her compelling story, which just added to the bare-bones feel of the plot. The side characters were also great, and the concept was fab, but I just wanted MORE. More depth, more connection, more seasoning.

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of Where There's a Whisk! This story follows Peyton, an aspiring chef who is competing in the reality show Top Teen Chef as the ticket out of her small-town life. But the competition requires more from her than just cooking, and Peyton has to decide how far she's willing to go to win the competition.

This story was so fun! As someone who loves watching cooking/baking competition shows, this was a blast. It's a super fast-paced story (I flew through it in one sitting) with fun friendships, some romance, and yes, there were some cheesy moments too. I loved the New York setting and watching the characters explore some popular tourist areas in the city.

I also loved the entire cast of characters, but sometimes I did wish there was a little more emphasis on them. The characters that are immediately established as Peyton's friends--Malik and Inaaya--pretty quickly take a backseat to the romance arc, which was a little disappointing. And though I loved how fast-paced it was, there were some elements of the competition itself that I wish we had spent more time on. Though the book would've been much longer if it had gone through all the challenges and eliminations in detail, sometimes it did feel like the competitions/eliminations were sped through in order to get to the next. A little more balance there would've made this book even better.

And obviously, this book was pretty unrealistic to what actual cooking show competitions demand from their contestants, especially since they were all teens. But that didn't take away any of the fun for the book for me--I didn't come to this book looking for realism, I came for a good time, and that was what I got.

In the end, I really enjoyed this story. I loved seeing Peyton grow as a character and challenge her beliefs about herself. If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced story with a bit of romance, I'd definitely recommend checking it out when it's released in October!

This was a super fun, light read. I've always loved reality competition shows, whether fictional from a book or in real life, so this went straight with my interests. I think the whole two sides of reality tv was so well done, as many of the reality tv books I've read tend to glamorize the entire experience.

I really loved Peyton as a protagonist. She was strong-willed, and grew to know her worth in the process. I liked her complicated background and the way she wanted herself to be perceived by others.

I think that with a storyline like this, it's really easy to fall into the cliché, but this book did a good job of not doing that. It combined the duality of reality tv very well, and portrayed the character's emotions in a way that made it very clear how taxing a show like this can be.

I also liked that it was pretty character heavy. In a book like this, making it plot heavy tends to create a slow, dragging read. In comparison, this book was fast-paced. I couldn't put it down.

One thing I will say is I felt that many of the characters were not developed enough. I liked how the author spent time developing friendships and not just romances, but even then, the characters were pretty 2-dimensional. I felt that especially for Paulie. I loved the romance he and Peyton had, but as a character by himself, there wasn't too much there.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was a fun, fast paced read.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Believe me, the entire buddy read thread was just me complaining about everything. Yet somehow, I cane out of this book with a positive memory.

My favorite thing about this was definitely the cooking show aspects. I love watching cooking shows in my free time, so this was right down my alley. I liked the challenges that were used, and how they explored New York City. I did feel like all of the advantages/sabotages were incredibly unrealistic, which disappointed me.

I also hated the way some of the characters acted. We're never given an explanation or apology from a character who made some vile comments about and to our main character. What's even worse is that the bully was an adult, and was insulting a teenager.

The romance in this was completely unnecessary as it developed in the last 15% and was between Peyton and an underdeveloped character. If there had been more setup for it, I mightve enjoyed it, but that wasn't the case.

Despite this entire review being me complaining, I did enjoy this book! I binged it in a day, and didn't want to put it down. Its an enjoyable book, just one with a lot of problems.

Thanks to Sarah J. Schmitt and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It had a nice blend between drama and romance all set in a teen cooking competition. The only problem that I had is that there is a point in the middle of the book where the plot awkwardly picks up speed by quite a bit. Almost as if the author realized that the book was going to be way to long if it keep going at the previous rate. But, once I got used to the change of speed then the book went back to being enjoyable. I

This book was super cute! The whole TV competition setting was great. I am a big fan of Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef, etc. so it seemed up my alley. I love a good romance amidst a competition and this one definitely delivered!

This is a new favorite of mine. I got super "Chopped" vibes from this book. All of the characters were fantastic and the friendships they built over the course of the competition were beautiful. The producer, Caitlin, was very conniving with setting up unnecessary drama in the group. The romance between two of the characters was so heartwarming it made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside. All of the different challenges were so unique and fun to watch. Getting to hear about all of the dishes that they made was making me very hungry. This book is a definite 5 star and I most definitely will be reading the author"s first book. I'm so excited and I can not wait to get my hands on it.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does an amazing job of bringing a reality tv show to life! The story was enjoyable and fun. The writing was smooth. The characters are relatable. I was worried that every challenge in the show was going to be a play-by-play which could get old fast, but Sarah Schmitt does a good job of making the challenges enjoyable to read while also making you feel like you didn't miss a big chunk of the show. I would recommend this book to a friend.

this book was actually the cutest thing in all reality.

this book follows peyton sinclair, who, like everyone from florida, wants to escape her small town and attend culinary school. so, she attends a new tv show, top teen chef, in hopes to win a scholarship. however, she quickly learns this competition isn't as smooth as she thought it would be.

since i adore cooking shows, i instantly got this book because i assumed i would like it at least a little bit, but i ended up adoring this sweet story.


let's talk positives:

i thought the storyline was really good. i loved how much time was spent talking about the cooking and the elimination challenges. and i also loved how real this ‘reality tv show’ was. it was super fast paced, i managed to read it in one day. all the meals made had me drooling, i desperately wanted to try peytons key lime pie or her piecaken. i loved how she managed to keep it real, and how much fun she had with the elimination challenges and seeing her grow as a chef was honestly really interesting.

now, i do have some cons:

-i thought we didn't talk enough about the other characters. i wish i could have seen more of peytons friendships with malik , inaaya, or any of the other characters. and meanwhile the main competition was going on, i would have loved to see more about the other characters and what they were doing while the competition was going on.

-while it was a super fast paced novel, i would have loved more details about the competition

-in the end, they gave us one chapter in the future, but i would have loved more. the last chapter mentioned three characters but i wish they talked about more of them. i would have loved to see where all the characters ended up doing.

overall, i would def recommended for people who love reality tv, cooking shows, and contemporaries

⭐ Rating: 4.9 ⭐

This book revolves around Peyton an aspiring baker who has her eyes on the prize. The contests has a range of teenagers from different backgrounds; all brought together by a love of cooking and the chance to win a culinary scholarship.

❤️ What I Liked ❤️
Characters: I loved that we got to see characters grow and understand them from each challenge. Whilst I would have like more time with the contestants voted off towards the beginning, I did enjoy the backstories and development between more characters.
Pace: We were not stuck reading how Peyton was cooking a meal for hours each competition, instead we were given key information and were allowed to see how the characters were reacting to the time constraints and challenges in the kitchen.
Challenges: I liked the idea of the challenges and the way that they were built into the story. This enabled us to get to know the competitors more and see how they react in different situations.

💔 What I Disliked 💔
The ending: No spoilers here, but obviously the competition comes to an end and we are given one small chapter telling us what happens after. I would have loved more information to find out what characters are up to, how have they grown from the competition. Are they studying or working now? That would have been the icing on the cake to see what everyone was doing.

📖 Overall View 📖
Overall I had to give this a 4.9 because of my feelings about the ending but I really enjoyed this book. I went in expecting an average book about a contest and was very pleasantly surprised. This will be ideal for anyone who loves the Great British Bake off or Hell’s kitchen style shows.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Peyton is a small-town girl who got selected for a Teen cooking competition, winner will get a scholarship for a culinary school. It is the only way to change her life, back at home it isn't great. This story is a bookish form of reality cooking shows, with a lot of politics, alliances and fun.

I really enjoy cooking shows so I naturally enjoyed this book way more than I thought. I like the way all of the characters were different but kind of realistic. This book was a perfect summer read with fast pace, some cheesiness and an unrealistic story. 

Peyton is so good for a human being so I couldn't relate to her. All of the characters were full of some kind of drama that made it so fun to read it. 

This book wasn't perfect but I liked it.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review

This was fun! There were a lot of things I had issues with. For the most part, I found this to be super unrealistic. I watch a lot of reality tv. Specifically competition like reality tv. That includes shows like Hell's Kitchen, Masterchef, and you guessed it, Masterchef Junior.

The tasks and the disadvantages were way too hard for this to come off as accurate. Not even adults have had to deal with things as difficult as all the teens here did. Not even that, but Peyton was kind of picked on from the very beginning, both by cast and crew. I know there's a lot of scripting that goes into shows like these, but now way would one single person be singled out and given disadvantage over disadvantage the way Peyton was.

Despite my many complaints, and trust me I had many, I actually really enjoyed this? I don't know, it was fun and silly and cute, and I never once wanted to stop reading it, so at least there's that lol. I really liked how the last chapter wrapped things up, and I'm glad Peyton got the ending she deserved with the people she grew to really care for

This book was absolutely adorable and I loved it. The characters are complex, even for teenagers, and seeing how they take on the cooking challenges and the show drama. Reading about the New York landscape and the fun they have together even with show drama was enjoyable and made me reminisce about my own trips to New York. Staying true to yourself no matter what people try to force you into is the perfect theme for this book.

Loved this book set in a cooking show/reality show hybrid! To be honest now I really want to be able to watch Peyton's season as a viewer. And eat her piecaken.

Peyton is cast in a cooking competition show with other recently graduated seniors, competing for a chance to win a spot at the American Culinary Institute. When Peyton has the poorest showing in the first round but doesn't get sent home, she realizes they are there for more than just their cooking skills -- the drama, backstory, and personalities are all reasons they might stay on the show... or if they don't comply, kicked off.

I liked how Peyton was able to control her destiny on the show, and grow as a chef! She also makes the most of every Landmark challenge, which made me like her more as a character. I thought it was all a lot of fun, from the cooking, to the sight-seeing, to the love triangle. It makes me not want to go on a reality show, but at the same time, the trade-off is that their lives all changed after the show in ways they never thought possible.

The author does a good job highlighting the class differences between Peyton and some of her friends, and how that shapes their relationships to cooking and the future.

I still have lingering questions about what the drama was with the judges.

Overall, would recommend!

I loved every little bit of this Young Adult Fiction set in New York, USA. It is reality tv in book format, following the antics of young cooks, fighting their way to the big prize. I have not read fiction for a while, not being inspired by adult romances, crime stories, horror, or sci fi. I was partly inspired to find books that my teenage nieces and nephews would enjoy. Also the title inspired me to find out more, because I used to be a chef with my own business.

Now officially retired, It has not stopped my love of good writing, cooking and cooking competitions. Where There's a Whisk, was a page turner from the start, full of wonderful well rounded characters, with opposing forces that you only usually find watching reality tv. A clever plot with totally surprising twists and turns and a few tears, that kept me rivited until the end. I would buy her books for myself! I messaged the author to tell her I love her work.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for an uncorrected advance copy. The review is an honest opinion and completely my own.