Have you watched any of the cooking competitions? How about the ones with kids as contestants? Hazel and I love them. I am always amazed with how much these kids can do in the kitchen. They are better cooks and/or bakers than me. Today's book is about a boy who enters one such competition. It has twists and turns that involve family and more. It is The Last Super Chef by Chris Negron.
From the Publisher:
Family and food take center stage in this heartfelt middle grade story perfect for fans of John David Anderson and Antony John.For as long as he can remember, Curtis Pith has been obsessed with becoming a chef like Lucas Taylor, host of Super Chef. And Curtis has a secret: Taylor is actually his long-absent father.
So when Taylor announces a kids-only season of Super Chef, Curtis finally sees his chance to meet his dad. But after Curtis wins a spot in the competition and arrives in New York to film the show, nothing goes as smoothly as he expected.
It’s all riding on the last challenge. If Curtis cooks his heart out like he knows he can, he just might go home with the top prize—and the truth.
From Me:
This book has all sorts of twists and turns. Now the big surprise is a bit predictable. I actually guessed it from the beginning. However the story is fun and well written. It has the amazement of the real life kids cooking competitions as well as a focus on family and a bit about friendship and developing relationships. This is a story that many kids will relate to. Curtis is the oldest child of a single mom. The mom struggles with money and keeping a job. They struggle to pay the rent and having money for food. Due to his mother working so hard and long hours Curtis has to learn to cook so he can make dinner for himself and his sister. His relationship with his sister and his mother is wonderful and the reader can tell.
The characters are well developed. The five kid competitors each have a different personality and their relationships with one another throughout the competition and in the living space show their own strengths and weaknesses. Plus the competition teaches each of them about themselves. The lessons at the end for each of them and for each other are intertwined throughout the story and gives the reader a sense of not being alone with different aspects of everyday life.
Spoiler Alert!! I also love that it includes a bit of awareness of Parkinson's Disease. It introduces this disease and the symptoms and more.
This book is a wonderful read and is current in the fact of the popularity of the cooking competitions. I hope you will check it out.
