My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: My Fine Fellow

Author: Jennieke Cohen

Publication: 11 January 2022

Format: Kindle eArc via NetGalley

Amazon Description

It’s 1830s England, and Culinarians—doyens who consult with society’s elite to create gorgeous food and confections—are the crème de la crème of high society.

Helena Higgins, top of her class at the Royal Academy, has a sharp demeanor and an even sharper palate—and knows stardom awaits her if she can produce greatness in her final year.

Penelope Pickering is going to prove the value of non-European cuisine to all of England. Her contemporaries may scorn her Filipina heritage and her dishes, but with her flawless social graces and culinary talents, Penelope is set to prove them wrong.

Elijah Little has nothing to his name but a truly excellent instinct for flavors. London merchants won’t allow a Jewish boy to own a shop, so he hawks his pasties for a shilling a piece to passersby—but he knows with training he can break into the highest echelon of society.

When Penelope and Helena meet Elijah, a golden opportunity arises: to pull off a project never seen before, and turn Elijah from a street vendor to a gentleman chef.

But Elijah’s transformation will have a greater impact on this trio than they originally realize—and mayhem, unseemly faux pas, and a little romance will all be a part of the delicious recipe.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I quite enjoyed Jennieke Cohen's Dangerous Alliance so I was thrilled when given the chance to read her upcoming My Fine Fellow thanks to HarperTeen and NetGalley. I actually started this last week after finishing the gothic and sometimes quite brutal Dunmoor as I needed something a lot more lighthearted to cleanse the brain palate.... and then decided to go festive for the Christmas Eve post and then got distracted and ... I'm finally finishing My Fine Fellow.  

It's a fun twist on Pygmalion/My Fair Lady. Higgins is Helena rather than Henry. Pickering is Penelope rather than Hugh. Instead of being experts in linguistics, the two girls are finishing up their training to be experts in culinary arts. Instead of turning a cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle into a lady, they set out to turn a Jewish street vendor named Elijah into a top chef.

I adore Penelope and Elijah and seeing what prejudices they battled with her being biracial and him being Jewish. I didn't adore the prejudices, of course ... but I quite admired how they were written. Helena, of course, is just as annoying and arrogant as Henry. In fact, she may even be moreso and drove me more than a bit crazy. I'm guessing that was quite purposeful and, therefore, masterfully done.

For the most part it is a fun read, but I made the dreadful mistake of starting it while on an empty stomach. The food descriptions just about killed me by the end of the first chapter. 

Be forewarned -- read this with something nearby to nibble on at the very least. 

Now I'm going to go grab a snack, pull up My Fair Lady on Netflix, and debate the next read. 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.