A Serving of Scandal (Opus Culinary Fiction) - Softcover

Leith, Prue

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1623160200 ISBN 13: 9781623160203

Publisher: Opus Books, 2013

Synopsis

Prue Leith played a leading role in the revolution of Britain's eating habits. Having published twelve highly acclaimed cookbooks, and held the ladle at her own gold standard bistro, she surrendered herself to her own secret passion: Culinary Fiction.

This is the first of three Prue Leith novels to inaugurate the Opus Culinary Fiction series. The mysterious juices of life intermingle with Leith's characters' creative harvests and subtle sauces.

Kate, a successful caterer to the posh Parliament crowd, inadvertently caters to the pleasures of Britain's Secretary of State, and uncovers her deepening understanding that each life must be a hybrid if it is to survive; substitutions must be part of the expectation; nothing is in season forever. Improvisation isn't just an escape route; its labyrinthine route is the main highway. There is no one recipe – not even great sex – which will be news to many readers – that will keep a relationship fresh. And there are days when going off impromptu to fly a kite takes precedence over the sanctity of beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Just when you think your larder is stale and it's time to unplug and compost, a friend – a transplant from another world – will explain that this is merely an opportunity for chutney.

About this title

About the Author

British best selling author of cookbooks and fiction, Prue Leith, has also been a celebrity chef, restaurateur, food writer and business woman. Blending her passion for cooking and writing, she is now concentrating on her novel writing. She lives near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England.

Review

Best-selling British food writer and novelist Leith (Choral Society, 2009) launches a culinary fiction series that encompasses good cooking and political sex scandals. Chef and new mother of one Kate McKinnon uses her culinary skills to serve high-powered government officials, including her most recent client, Foreign Secretary of State Oliver Stapler. Though he s married and completely off limits, Kate can t help but feel instantly attracted to Oliver by virtue of his dynamic career and considerable sex appeal. Once the news hits the papers that the two are getting a little too close, both their lives are at risk, even if the gossip isn t exactly accurate. Leith has crafted a delicious, must-read tale of deception that mixes sex, lies, and food like no other. Readers will want a second helping. Carissa Chesanek --Booklist

British celebrity chef Leith (The Choral Society) charms with this story of the friendship between single caterer Kate McKinnon and married British Foreign Secretary Oliver Stapler. Oliver s appreciation for and knowledge of food is a perfect match for Kate s skill in crafting meals, increasing their mutual regard. When a scandal-hungry tabloid accuses them of having an affair, their lives are thrown into turmoil. Oliver s career and marriage disintegrate, and he must reconsider the assumptions he s made about his life and ambitions. Kate s catering business collapses as she loses government contracts and is hounded by merciless reporters, and she realizes that her innocent feelings for Oliver have blossomed into desire. For all its tangled relationships, this tale is really a three-way romance among food, those who prepare it, and those who eat it; descriptions of scratch meals are as appealing as those of the gourmet dinners Kate creates, and when she describes cooking as an act of love, the true heart of the story is revealed. Agent: Jane Turnbull, Turnbull Agency. (Aug.) --Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Opus Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1623160200
• ISBN 13: 9781623160203
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330