When I learned that Melissa Senate’s The Love Goddess’ Cooking School was about a grandmother-granddaughter relationship, I knew I had to read it. Add to that some mouth-watering descriptions of classic Italian dishes, twists and turns of friendship and romance, and some mysterious fortune-telling, and you’ve got the makings of a book to consume in one sitting. Although I was tempted to read it in one sitting, I preferred to savor this chick lit novel because I didn’t want it to end.
As the story begins, Holly Maguire is testing her grandmother’s prediction for how she will recognize the great love of her life: she must serve him an Italian delicacy made of lamb intestines called sa cordula. If he likes it, then he’s the one for her, according to fortune-teller Camilla Constantina, who has a 70% correct track record with her predictions. Unfortunately, Holly’s current love interest spits it out in disgust, and who can blame him! Stewed lamb guts does not seem like a dish you would serve your lover. (This is one of the most inventive themes in the book and the surprise at the end will definitely have you smiling at Senate’s wonderful imagination.)
Heartbroken, Holly moves across the country to Maine and into her grandmother’s house. She inherits her cooking school, Camilla’s Cucinotta, and the little deli where she tries to recreate the homemade fresh pastas and sauces her grandmother was known for all over Blue Crab Island. She comforts herself at night by reading her grandmother’s diaries. Camilla comes to life in the pages of her diary and Holly learns how her grandmother became a fortune teller, why the women on the island turned against her, and the conflict that caused Holly’s mother to leave the island and never want to return.
Holly is the underdog right from the beginning and I wanted her to succeed as much as she did. When she enrolled four students in her cooking school, I cheered for her success. When recipes and relationships failed, I felt her pain and loss. Holly comforts herself by cooking her grandmother’s recipes, over and over again, and in the process gains confidence in herself. My favorite line was her grandmother’s belief that tiramisu was the Italian version of chicken soup and could cure anything!
Senate builds the story around the four students in Holly’s cooking class and cleverly intertwines their lives so that you’re never sure where she’s going next. She also captures the tensions and jealousies between Holly and her mother, the classic “enemy in the middle” between grandmother and granddaughter. The rustic country setting of Blue Crab Island sounded like a place I’d love to visit and explore. One of the sweetest and most imaginative touches is Camilla’s precious binder full of her handwritten recipes. Every recipe included one final touch to be added along with the other ingredients—a true statement, a memory or a wish.
My wish is that this book will be made into a movie!
