Summary
Zoey is a gifted and creative chef. Her unique taste creations have people lined up to try her cooking. She decides she wants to open her own restaurant, so she heads to the bank for a loan.
It probably would have gone better if she wasn’t a twelve-year-old kid.
But Zoey is a very creative and persuasive kid. She coerces the loan officer to come to her house for lunch. The food – and the $1200 Zoey makes from the people who come by for her lunch special – convince the loan officer to give her a shot. Then, Zoey just has to convince her parents.
Zoey shows incredible perseverance as she works towards her goal of having every person in the world try her cooking! But perseverance may not be enough when someone tries to sabotage her dream.
Review
This was so fun! Zoey’s creativity with food is astonishing. Her understanding of cooking principles is FAR beyond mine. For kids who love to cook, her ideas will be fodder for their own cooking experiments.
Zoey’s got a great support group around her. I love her best friend, Dallin. Zoey gets to learn some good friendship lessons while she pursues her goal of having her own restaurant. Her parents are interesting. Supportive yet skeptical. But Zoey knows how to get them on board.
This reminded me of the All Four Stars books by Tara Dairman about another girl with a passion for food and cooking. This book is quirkier and zany-er, but will appeal to some of those same readers. Recommend this one to all the budding chefs you know! This will be inspiring to kids who cook. Includes a few recipes for kids to try (with adult supervision!).
Many thanks to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for a electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥