Chef's Kiss
by T.J. Alexander
4 Stars
Simone loves her job in the test kitchen at The Discerning Chef, a magazine that features recipes and articles about cooking. But on the day she is trying to create the perfect sourdough she is shocked to learn the kitchen manager has retired and her replacement is causing a stir. Ray the new kitchen manager is quirky and all over the place which drives Simone crazy. With changes in the test kitchen for everyone both Ray and Simone need to navigate the world of video creation and a difficult workplace. When Ray comes out as nonbinary at work, Simone feels protective as TDC turns against Ray and anyone on staff who wants to be different.
A super sweet workplace romance with very clear opposites falling for each other. It was little weird hearing Ray referred to with she/her pronouns for more than half the book since the actual coming out as Non-binary happens later than anticipated. But after Ray does come out you feel so much empathy for the character who's just trying to make it through their day. Their is a bit of transphobia and homophobia in the book which can be jarring at times, but it's always put in to prove a point. I will be honest I got major Bon Appetite vibes from this entire story and I wonder if the author was at one point a fan of Bon Appetite's digital library (before they were totally cancelled of course)
A great pride month read and a great addition to your LGBTQ collection!