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In the quaint seaside town of Newbay, a beginner’s cookery course is starting. And three very different students have signed up . . . Liz’s husband has left her for a twenty-something clean-eating blogger, and she’s determined to show the world – and her daughter – she’s just as capable in the kitchen. John, newly widowed after fifty years of marriage, can’t live on sympathy lasagnes forever. To thirty-year-old workaholic Bella, the course is a welcome escape from her high-pressure job. Their only common ground: between them, they can barely boil an egg! Enter talented chef Alex, who is determined to introduce his pupils to the comforts of cuisine. As Liz, John and Bella encounter various disasters in the kitchen, the unlikely trio soon form a fast friendship. Their culinary skills might be catastrophic – but could the cookery club have given them a recipe for happiness?
The Worst Case Scenario Cookery Club focuses on Liz, John and Bella. Three totally different people, with the same aspirations. Although it focuses on all three, Liz is most definitely the main character of the book as her story is told the most throughout.
Liz certainly isn’t having the luckiest of lives; her husband has left her for a much younger blogger, her teenage daughter doesn’t want to spend time with her anymore and her dog is now incredibly overweight. Liz becomes obsessed with the blogger who stole her husband and constantly stalks her blog filled with healthy food recipes and life advice. Whilst she poisons her mind with such high life expectations, Liz comforts her and her dog, Ted, with the unhealthiest of foods including a lot of ready meals; this leads up to Ted being signed up for Waggy Weight Loss Club by Doctor Evan Thomas. An epiphany happens when Alex, a young chef, introduces her to a cooking course he is opening, which eventually includes all three people; Liz, Bella and John. With an overweight dog, a daughter who refuses to eat anything that isn’t vegetarian and a healthy guru blogger brain-washing her husband; Liz decided it was time to learn how to cook.
I do think Liz is such an incredible character to read about, but we also have to give credit to Bella and John who have bigger roles to the story than you may think. Bella’s story shows us so much kindness and acceptance, as she leads the busy life of a public defence lawyer; especially with one certain character who you may find yourself soften up to. Her story with food is also much deeper than Liz and John’s, as her father was a chef. John has a much more simpler story-line to begin with, his wife passed away leaving him to not be able to cook for himself, however, his story becomes a lot more interesting as the book goes on.
This is such a heart-warming story with characters you can’t possibly hate, except for Liz’s husband, Ian. The rest of them bring so much to the book and with only small roles, Saskia and Ted really do bring so much comedic moments. The food they make as well is most definitely mouth-watering and I now have the sudden urge to make (and eat) Liz’s childhood dessert! Chef Shelby is about to happen! I flew through this book as soon as I had started it and I can not wait to find the time to dig in to more of Chrissie’s stories… I know they’ll for sure be a treat just as this one was!
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Have you read ‘The Worst Case Scenario Cookery Club’ by Chrissie Manby? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us over at @Fuzzable!
