I was very invested in the romance. Like 5 star invested. Loved both characters. Skimmed through a lot of the food show part (details of what ingredients she picked out, what judges thought etc). A little too heavy with those details. I would definitely read this author’s next one.

I am so excited to be on the blog tour for Sadie on a Plate

Sadie’s dream is to own a restaurant with modern takes on Jewish cuisine. But after getting fired due to a public breakup/humiliation, it doesn’t seem like she will ever have the opportunity to pursue that dream. Until she gets a call to go on the popular TV show, Chef Supreme. On the plane, she meets Luke, and has amazing chemistry with him right off the bat. She plans on contacting him after filming isomer and she has her phone back, but guess who is the show’s new judge… In order to save her career, thy have to ignore that chemistry but can they do it?

This book was light on the romance and heavy on the cooking competition and I adored every second of this story. I love a good cooking show and this book felt like watching one, only I was somehow even more invested in Sadie’s journey than I am when I watch the shows. The food descriptions were mouth watering and I especially enjoyed seeding how Sadie connected with her culture and her grandmother through her food. I adored the diversity in the characters and their cooking styles and am now intrigued by so many new foods I’ve never tried thanks to this book. Sadie was a great heroine. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and her passion for her food. I also adored Luke and how they ended up supporting each other (and that ending was the sweetest).

Huge thank you to Berkley for the advanced copy!

This debut by Amanda Elliot was a real treat! Randomly, I've read a lot of baking/cooking competition romances so I was curious how this would stand out and it did in a delicious way! I don't watch cooking competitions but after reading this book I definitely want to. Sadie is an up and coming chef in the Seattle restaurant scene. When she has a public breakup and is fired by her boss, she is left not knowing what to do but ends up getting called to compete on her favorite TV show, Chef Supreme. When she flies out to NYC, she ends up meeting Luke and having a fun day with him before starting her 6 week stint on the show, with no phones or ability to communicate with the outside world. Unbeknownst to Sadie, Luke ends up being one of the judges!

This was such a charming read. I'm a huge romance fan but I felt like the romance in this book took a back burner to the cooking competition and I'm surprisingly not upset about it. I loved the way the story unfolded and the relationships formed. The secondary characters weren't explored too deeply but yet I felt like they were great friends. This was a sweet story with enough yummy parts to pull it together to make a great story. I would say don't expect your traditional romance for this story. It's not that but there is a secondary romance that I enjoyed. Now I want to go cook something delicious from my heritage!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Read this if you like:
👩🏼‍🍳 Masterchef or Top Chef
👨🏼‍🍳 Cooking shows in general
🏆 Rooting for a character(s) during reality competition shows
🍱 Talk of food/ restaurant dishes
💛 A cleaner/light underlying romance

Book Review:
I really, really, loved this one! It was such a cute a lighthearted read. I absolutely loved the journey and following Sadie through the cooking competition. At times I was wishing for more romance, but the way it was set up, that wasn’t possible, but I did love what we did get of Sadie and Luke.

I wish we would have gotten alternating POV in this book, and I feel it totally would have worked with the plot and wouldn’t have made it overlapping and repetitive.

The connection between Sadie and Luke was so steamy and I absolutely loved the subtleties of the way their romance was written in even through the story was really about Sadie coming into her own and finding who she was as a chef…

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Books for the ARC of this book! I am so thankful to obtain a copy to read in advance of its release!

I really enjoyed this one! Sadie is the type of hilarious hot mess I love reading in RomComs. She was such a fun character to follow. I especially loved the cooking reality show setting, it made me want to find and binge more cooking competition shows after reading. This book also made me extremely hungry with the way all the different types of foods are described. Also, when her love interest Luke turned out to be one of the judges, I'm pretty sure I squealed out loud. I loved seeing their relationship grow despite the odds stacked against them. Overall, this was such an enjoyable read and I can't wait to see what else Amanda Elliot comes out with next!

Adorable and charming. A delightful escape. Just what a rom com should be. Amanda Elliot did a great job.

After being fired and pretty certain her entire chef career has imploded, Sadie receives a call to join the famous cooking competition show, Chef Supreme. On her flight from Seattle to NYC, Sadie meets an intriguing and handsome man in-flight, a man who had chef hands like hers, and indulge in a fast and unique connection--Luke. Because of a nondisclosure and no contact for 6 weeks, it turns out that Luke is a judge for the competition. With eyes on the prize, Sadie must focus on proving to herself and everyone that she's an excellent chef. But, will this attraction to Luke get in the way?

Perfect for foodies and fans of the show TOP CHEF, SADIE ON A PLATE was a humorous, engaging story that heavily focused on Sadie's culinary journey through the various challenges in Chef Supreme. The creative recipes and their execution, multicultural representation of various delicacies were the main events with a side of romance. I wished there was more romance, tbh! I wanted more of Luke! I still enjoyed Sadie's narration, her POV, and all her quirks.

As a huge fan of Top Chef I really enjoyed this Sadie on a Plate. It was a great behind the scenes look of filming a realty show while also living your life and going after your dreams. Sadie grew a lot by the end and that’s really what this book was about. Don’t get me wrong, the romance was cute and fun in a forbidden sense, but it was not the star of the story. The real star was finding out who you are and how strong you are. Add it to your TBR, especially if you like cooking shows and behind the scenes type stuff.

Sadie is funny, lively, but sometimes I felt she get the tendency to get lost in her head and make assumptions, like with Kaitlyn.

But, as far as the romance goes, I didn't buy any of it. I mean, except for the beginning, Sadie and Luke almost didn't have any conversation or interaction that would convince ME they were in love.

Anyways, I really liked the writing style and I really enjoyed the whole Chef Supreme competition. It felt like I was really there, watching everything live. I loved all the contestants (well, except maybe Vanilla Joe). The queer representation was amazing and the whole focus on Sadie's Jewish heritage too..

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for both an advanced copy of Sadie on a Plate as well as a free copy of this book. #Partner

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub Date: March 15, 2022

I enjoyed this book so much! I have not been captivated by the entire cast of characters in a contemporary romance book in a long time, and this book pulled me right in. I loved Sadie and Luke from the beginning. I'm not normally a big fan of the instant-love trope, but I really enjoyed that Sadie and Luke connected over their shared love of something initially rather than just their instant shared love for each other. I thought the scene where Sadie and Luke visit the speakeasy at the beginning was so cute, but it was really the scene in the bathroom between them that sold me on their relationship. I felt Sadie's anguish after being confronted by Derek, and I also felt Luke's comfort as he leaned against that stall door, giving her the care he could in that moment. I would like to think that what he did was something that some of my male friends would do for me, too (offering comfort in an impossible situation).

I also really enjoyed the cast of characters in this one. I liked the representation they offered; various sexual orientations and gender identification was well-executed in my opinion, giving all readers a chance to see themselves in the story. I wasn't a super fan of the male bros in the story, but I think that was the idea. :) Overall, I felt like the cast meshed together so well, and I would love to see this story brought to life in a rom-com style TV show that I could binge. All the characters had a nice story arc I thought, and I especially liked that Katelyn and Sadie made amends in the book instead of being adversaries for the whole book (even if that was a one sided hatred in the end). This story reminded me a bit of Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, but honestly, I liked this book so much better. It was better executed (IMO) and the story had a much better flow to it. And, I learned so much about Jewish style food in this book! I'm so intrigued by some of the dishes that Sadie cooked as well as the food that was described at the Korean speakeasy.

There were a few things that bugged me, though. I wasn't a big fan of Sadie's inner monologue and self-hate rants she went on. I think I understand what point they were supposed to prove to the story as Sadie grew into her confidence, but at times, it got a bit tedious to read her self-deprecating thoughts. I did like her inner conversations with her grandmother, though.

Overall, this book was fun and VERY engaging. I read this book in less than 24 hours, and I enjoyed every page. I'm already looking forward to Amanda Elliot's 2023 book (the finished copy has a preview of this book in the back!)

"My life has this irritating habit of throwing its biggest changes at me while I'm completely in the nude."

If you love:

✔️ Complex, non-stereotypical Jewish representation (according to my Jewish friends I have discussed with. Full disclosure: I am not Jewish)
✔️ Quirky, hilarious heroine who is unafraid to speak her mind
✔️ Cooking competitions! All of the delicious food! Unique culinary combinations that I would love to try!
✔️ A very light romance attached to contemporary fiction

Then this book is for you! A must read for those looking for a feel good, comforting story.

Such an amazing book filled with mouthwatering food. This book is about a woman who is offered a spot on a food competition show where she meets a guy who turns out to be the judge on the cooking show. I really enjoyed the concept of this book. I have always watched baking shows on Netflix and let me say that this book is basically that but with romance and focuses on one MC. The pacing was great with a good story plotline. I enjoyed how most of the book took place on the show. Also there is a great amount of diversity in this book and you get to learn about different cultural foods. I didn't have any problems with the overall writing of the book.

The main character in this book is Sadie who is Jewish and makes Jewish food which sounds so good! She just broke up with the chef which went viral but was offered a spot on the show. She is funny and a character that everyone will love. I enjoyed her character development in this book from how she started to how she ended. Our main side character is Luke who is the judge on the show and the guy she met on the plane. I enjoyed his character as he also had a goal he needed to achieve in his career. I love how the characters were passionate about their cooking career and I was here for it. There were many other side characters in this book that I enjoyed and were great supporting friends. The romance in his book is instant love and forbidden romance. I have to say that the romance wasn't my favorite as it was very rushed and not much development.

The ending was well done but I was kind of disappointed with how the romance played out in this book. Though I enjoyed all the yummy described foods in the book which made me hungry throughout the book. Overall this was a great read but I really wish the romance was better because of the way the story was playing out. Overall I recommend it and if you are a person who needs a "food show" with a judge and a contestant falling in love then this is for you.

Sadie on a Plate was my first book by Amanda Elliot. I loved the cover and that it was set in Seattle and that's why I originally requested it.

I did love certain parts of this book, including the cooking competition, which was fun to read. However, I felt like there was very little romance in the book.

This book was so addicting. Like a really good appetizer, I could not stop myself from devouring it. Just absolutely delightful.

That said, it IS super predictable. Almost painfully so. There was not one thing that truly surprised me (except maybe how nice and likable Kaitlyn ended up being 🤣). However, the amount of predictability doesn’t really affect my view of romances. It’s a genre that is predictable in nature.

What I weigh in the realm of romance is how I felt while reading. During Sadie on a Plate, I felt joy, hopeful, empowered and just overall satiated. I connected with Sadie pretty well and really felt with her during all the triumphs and downfalls. The romance was also very believable and relatable to me and I adored it. I would highly recommend this book!

Perfect for fans of cooking competitions! Sadie's excited to appear on Chef Supreme and she's also a bit excited about Luke, who she meets on the plane to New York. She tells him she won't able to see him for the next six weeks but.....Yep, there he is in all his inked glory when she arrives at the show. Sadie's determined to cook Jewish dishes during the competition and spends a lot of time thinking and perfecting her recipes (I got hungry). This is, in fact, as much about the food as it is the romance, which simmers more than boils. That said, I liked this for Sadie, Luke, and the others. Elliot tells the story with a good dose of humor and it's clear she likes her characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Entertaining read.

Thank you @berkleyromance for a copy of Sadie on a Plate. I am becoming a fan of cooking competition and romance combo.

I enjoyed how Sadie and Luke met and their amazing day. I appreciated the Jewish representation and how Sadie knew her brand.

I wanted more romance between Luke and Sadie and under their current situation could not showcase more of it. I am not a huge fan of Insta love and this was just a tad too instant for me.

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.