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If You Can't Take the Heat

by Michael Ruhlman

A summer in a restaurant kitchen

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A summer in a restaurant kitchen

Theo Claverback’s broken leg and recent breakup derail his plans, sending the high school football player into an unfamiliar role as a prep cook at an upscale French restaurant. The kitchen becomes the setting for a story about finding direction amid professional pressures, new relationships, and the risks tied to restaurant work. As Theo earns the chef’s trust, the book connects the demands of kitchen life with questions of recovery, responsibility, and starting over.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in food and restaurant kitchens
  • Readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories involving romance and personal setbacks
  • Readers curious about the pressures behind an upscale restaurant’s daily work

Themes

Cooking and restaurant workRecovery and new purposeRomanceResponsibility and risk

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From the James Beard Award-winning author of Ruhlman's Twenty comes a gritty story that gives a true look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.

"The hustle and passion that flow during service drop readers squarely in the middle of the action . . . The well-realized foodie elements are the highlight."--Kirkus Reviews

When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating breakup, he's forced to cancel his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of a high-end French restaurant, where he'll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal.

But it's in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose . . . and a new love. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant--and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people.
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