When Susan Napier’s grandfather passed, she was handed the job of running the restaurants he had built. Financial problems forced them to close all but the flagship Elliot’s, named for her grandfather, located in Edinburgh. But as soon as she returns to the city, she is faced not only with a head chef who clearly doesn’t intend to take any direction from her but also with the man she once thought she’d spend the rest of her life with.
Chef Chris Baker has returned to Edinburgh, the city of his childhood, to open the restaurant he’d always dreamed of. He got his start as a cocky young cook in the kitchen of Elliot’s, falling in love with the kitchen and his granddaughter. But when things went south for him, and he and Susan broke up, he traveled the world, finding refuge in kitchens and learning cuisine from other countries. He ended up in New York, where he stumbled into the opportunity to host a cooking competition show. The show was a hit, and he became a household name in America and Europe. But he wanted nothing more than to move back to Scotland and create his own place.
The weeks go by, and Susan is able to find a replacement executive chef pretty quickly but not a new pastry chef. A baker herself, she understands how important the right desserts can be for a restaurant. Finally, her new chef convinces her to give it a try herself, so Susan jumps in and starts to create new recipes with her pastry skills. But a radio interview of Chris Baker raises her hackles when he says unflattering things about Elliot’s. So when the opportunity appears for Elliot’s new chefs to go up against Chef Baker in a competition at the food festival, they jump at the chance.
Chris feels a little manipulated to be in the competition at the festival, but he agrees to it because he knows that Elliot’s has been struggling, and he does want to help Susan. But when he does see her again, and her food turns out to be delicious, he is plagued with conflicting emotions. Elliot’s is where he started, and he wants them to succeed, but after what happened to him there, he also just wants to protect himself. Which would be easier if Susan weren’t still so beautiful. But so much happened. Would they ever be able to get past it all?
As the weeks go by, and the restaurants consume all their time, Susan and Chris find that despite their attempts to stay apart from each other, fate keeps bringing them into each other’s lives. And the more time they spend together, the more their feelings bubble up. But with the missteps and mistakes, the interruptions and the interlopers, will Susan and Chris ever get a second chance to get it right?
All Stirred up is Brianne Moore’s look at love in the kitchen. This delightful romantic comedy is a fun view inside a professional kitchen as well as a bit of family drama from things left unsaid for too long. The characters that dance across these pages feel like they could be the people sitting next to you in the cafe or on the bus. And as a lover of all things Scottish, I adored the descriptions of life in Edinburgh and felt like I got to take a mini-trip there for awhile.
I got to listen to the audio book of All Stirred Up, and narrator Mary Jane Wells is a revelation. She could pull off the Scottish brogue when it was called for, not an easy task, and made the rest of the story charming as well.
I loved every minute I got to spend in this story’s universe. I loved how the characters were mature and took responsibility for their mistakes. I thought the story was honest and interesting, and as I mentioned, I adored the setting. I recommend All Stirred Up for foodies, for fans of a good rom com, and for anyone who wants to have a really good story read to them by a fantastic narrator.
A copy of the audiobook for All Stirred Up was provided by Dreamscape Media through NetGalley, with many thanks.
