Paper Palate

Real comfort food makes us feel all safe and warm inside. It brings together family and friends by blending years, memories and tastes. The novel Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs brings all these elements to the table. Family, friends, warmth, deliciousness, love, and being hungry can all be found in Comfort Food. Jacobs’s fictional television world of “The Cooking Channel” will look very familiar to us foodies and Food Network-aholics.

Jacob whips a story together that features the personal life of fictional celebrity chef Gus as its main ingredient. This 50-year-old cooking icon seems to blend the personalities and traits of Ina Garten, Paula Deen, and Sandra Lee into one lovely character. As the story develops, we see an emotionally scarred Gus battling with herself over loss of youth, loss of control in the lives of her grown children, loss of money, the possible loss of a job, and an emerging desire to be the sensual woman that she knows is lurking around in there somewhere. Gus’s ability to go toe to toe with a beauty queen provides for comedy when her competitive nature simmers to the surface and sometimes comes to a rolling boil!
Jacobs’s recipe for a successful novel is plated with interesting secondary characters who help us understand Gus a bit more and give us a peek into the “real” life of a celebrity. For those who are addicted to all things food related, this book will make a pleasant summertime read that also assists in feeding our addiction. For those not “into food” (do those really people exist?) you just might pick up on enough food jargon to make for interesting dinner conversation at your next party!

Cover image from Powells.com