Alice Fleck’s father is a culinary historian, and for as long as she can remember, she’s been helping him recreate meals from the past — a hobby she prefers to keep secret from kids her age. But when her father’s new girlfriend enters them into a cooking competition at a Victorian festival, Alice finds herself and her hobby thrust into the spotlight.
And that’s just the first of many surprises awaiting her. On arriving at the festival, Alice learns that she and her father are actually contestants on Culinary Combat, a new reality TV show hosted by Tom Truffleman, the most famous and fierce judge on TV! And to make matters worse, she begins to suspect that someone is at work behind the scenes, sabotaging the competition.
It’s up to Alice, with the help of a few new friends, to find the saboteur before the entire competition is ruined, all the while tackling some of the hardest cooking challenges of her life . . . for the whole world to see.
Want to learn more about Alice’s world of culinary history and competitive cooking? Check out these research notes and resources.
A finalist for the Forest of Reading Silver Birch Award, Diamond Willow Award and Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence). Named one of the CCBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2021.
Generous portions of yum for fans of mysteries and mille-feuille. – Kirkus
“Detailing fascinating food history and delectable dishes, Delaney serves a toothsome culinary caper amid a gentle, well-balanced portrait of one preteen’s journey toward accepting adaptability and change.” – Publishers Weekly