A review by thebooknerdscorner
Chef's Kiss by Jarrett Melendez

5.0

A wholesome graphic novel that highlights the importance of a strong friend group, the willpower to follow ones dreams, and a pig who will eat just about anything. 

After graduating from college, Ben Cook is ready to enter the workforce. Unfortunately, every place that he interviews at says that he doesn't have enough experience. Well how is he supposed to get experience if no one will give him a chance? After another rejected job interview, Ben stumbles across a restaurant with a "Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary" sign. The job may not have anything to do with reading or writing, but he is ecstatic that he will be receiving a paycheck. The longer he works in the kitchen, the happier he begins to feel. And it doesn't hurt that one of the chefs in a rather attractive man named Liam. . . Now, Ben has to weigh his newfound love for cooking against his lifelong dream working in publishing; what could go wrong?

This graphic novel is very adorable! The romance elements are great, the friendships are so sweet, and the real world issues this book tackles is impressive. This book is truly *chef's kiss* The entire time I was reading it I felt giddy and the humor is always spot one. The illustrations are amazing and it is cool to see how perfectly four different people's art forms come together to make one coherent picture. 

I think my favorite thing about this book is how it deals with the after college experience. One spends a bunch of their life (and money) investing in their education and then they join the "real world" and can't find a job, even with the degree they have. The beginning part of this book where Ben was turned down from dozens of job because he didn't have any experience is so legit, but it's crazy how society expects one to have this experience when no place seems willing to give newbies a try! The fact that Ben also struggles with making one solid decision about what he wants to do for the rest of his life is also so understandable. I love the fact that these topics are addressed in this graphic novel; I feel that they are such realistic issues, yet nobody seems to wants to talk about them. 

Another thing I love about this book is the friend groups. Ben lives with three of his best friends, Liz, Rachel, and Tom. All three of his friends were unique personalities and it was such a joy to read about the strange endeavors that they partake in. I honestly think that it is a great idea to room with a couple of besties at this phase in a person's life. It's hard to be struggling new adults, so it seems so much nicer to struggle together rather than alone. It gives one support both financially as well as allowing others to mentally be there for you. Liam's friend group/the employees at the restaurant are also a great crew of people. I love how diverse the cast in this graphic novel is, as well as how interesting they all are as individual characters. 

Watson is such a goofy addition to this story. I mean, who doesn't want the taste testing pig to be in charge of your fate? The fact that Ben had to cook recipes to appease a pig is such a comical premise, and it is so fun to see Watson pop up throughout the story. He really is just another part of the restaurant's family, which is super random, but also a really heartwarming addition to this book. 

I also really appreciate how much of a nerd and a dork Ben is. He is an English major who loves D&D, fluently understands Shakespeare talk, and has dozens of boxes of books. I find him very relatable in many ways and I love reading about nerdy characters such as myself. How awkward he is when it comes to romance is so cute (and relatable!) and I couldn't get enough of him as a character. 

Overall, I ate up every bite of "Chef's Kiss." I really enjoyed the illustrations, the humor, the characters, the messages, and the all around wholesome vibe. I would be more than happy to check out more of the author's/illustrators' work in the future. The four of them really came together to form a power team that created a beautiful story for me to consume.