Sarah Schmitt’s Where There’s a Whisk is a cute young adult romance set against the backdrop of a TV cooking competition. Teenager Peyton Sinclair has a passion for baking and finds herself with a chance to show off her skills on Top Teen Chef. Competing may be her ticket out of her small town, whose lack of opportunity threatens to hold her back and looms over her every decision. Peyton heads to New York City where the city and her fellow competitors help her grow and change in ways she could never have dreamed.
Peyton’s fellow competitors Malik, Lola, Paulie, Adam, Hakulani, Dani and Inaaya come from all walks of life and, though there is a lack of character development across the board, particularly when it comes to Peyton’s competition, it is hard to hold that against the book. Where There’s a Whisk does not set out to be an expansive character study. Rather, it is a teen romance and Schmitt provides an adequate level of nuance. New York City became a character all its’ own and I relished the opportunity to live vicariously through Peyton, exploring the city for the first time.
As a Top Chef junkie, the behind the scenes glimpses of production city and the organization, logistics and responsibilities of the PA’s is fascinating are fascinating. The producer’s involvement is barely shy of outright manipulation and one must wonder about the validity and fairness in all cooking competition shows. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the book did make me question the integrity of Top Chef, one of my all time favorite shows.
All in all, Where There’s a Whisk is sugary sweet romance. Definitely worth a taste! Look for it this fall!
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