Reader beware! I’m sure you know the sage advice to never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach; this is along the same lines. If you dare to delve into Carla Laureano’s romantic novel The Saturday Night Supper Club while hungry, you may find yourself craving rich foods that require experienced culinary skills to create—or reservations at a swanky restaurant such as Sperry’s or Chauhan Ale & Masala House in Nashville. Just like chef Maneet Chauhan who won the Food Network’s Second Tournament of Champions, main character Rachel Bishop was a James Beard Award winning chef.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit I’d never heard of a Saturday Night Supper Club until friend and publisher Sandra Barela educated me with her own adventures into such culinary delights. It’s safe to say, I’m not a foodie. Growing up in a family of seven, with a mother who worked full-time, I was cooking dinners by the age of twelve. Mom shopped on a budget, and although the meals she made us on the weekends were wonderful, what my older sister and I fixed were just the essentials. Meat, potatoes, and usually a salad of iceberg lettuce and lots of fresh veggies.
Then I had my own family and, by necessity, I also cooked on a budget. It was more important to me that I served healthy meals than to-die-for culinary treats. I worked full-time, too, and when I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was spend hours in the kitchen. It’s not that I’m incapable of making delicious meals (I’m capable of following a recipe); it’s just not a priority. This is one reason my husband’s weight hasn’t shifted in the sixteen years we’ve been married. Fortunately, he prefers healthy over to-die-for cuisine, just like me. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy an amazing meal now and then. In fact, I’ve been to the aforementioned Sperry’s twice and the Masala House once. After reading this novel, I’m tempted to make reservations at one of these places in Nashville.
That said, one of the stand-out features in Ms. Laureano’s book is the abundance of fancy foods, most of which I cannot even pronounce. I’d never heard of “plating” courses until I read this book. I now feel a definite sense of insecurity when it comes to cooking, which I’m sure is not what the author intended. It turns out there is a whole big world out there that I have never experienced, along with a culture I never gave much thought about until reading The Saturday Night Supper Club. It’s always a pleasant surprise when I learn something while reading fiction.
Enough about me and my limited cooking skills, let’s jump into the book. Main character Rachel Bishop is an emotionally closed-off chef of some repute in Denver, Colorado. She strives for perfection above all else, and success is of ultimate importance to her. But when writer and essayist, Alex Kanin, publishes a scathing article belittling a small-minded food critique for his unfair (and unfounded) biases about Rachel, it has the opposite effect he intended. Rather than be her champion, he ultimately plays a part in her losing her restaurant.
The romance was sweet—very Hallmark-ish—the characters charming and realistic, and the writing well done. I had a difficult time connecting with Rachel Bishop as she was so closed-off. I didn’t feel the author dug into her personality enough to make her relatable. Being closed off doesn’t mean there aren’t deep emotions underneath the walled exterior, but it seemed the focus was more on food than character development. And there was a lot of food! I applaud Ms. Laureano’s ability to write so well, I could almost smell the fancy dishes from the screen of my tablet while reading. Either she is very skilled in the kitchen, or she’s an amazing researcher. Either way, well done.
Alex Kanin, the son of Russian immigrants, was more relatable. The story didn’t delve too deeply into his career as a writer, but his relationship with his sister Dina was a wonderful backdrop to getting into his head and heart. We all know how romances are supposed to end, so it wouldn’t be a spoiler alert to say they fell in love by the close of the novel. The romance seemed to happen at hyper-speed, but there is only so much one can cram into a book of this length. Food definitely took top priority in the pages of The Saturday Night Supper Club.
I assume there is (or will be) a sequel to this story, because the ending was left with lots of questions—about Alex and Rachel’s relationship, Alex’s sister Dina, and a potential love interest between Rachel’s friend Ana and Alex’s friend Bryan. I am intrigued enough to jump into the next book if there is one. Anyone who is into food shows (and I suspect there are a lot of you out there) will thoroughly enjoy this book.
Four out of five stars.
