I could spend years in a cookbook shop and never get bored. Where do I begin? I love the weirdness of cookbooks; how they capture the larger culture of a specific time-period and tell the tale through the prism of food. Take, for example, one of my cookbook treasures: The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Cookbook by Robin Leach. It’s a time capsule of the eighties — glass block, Dynasty-style hairdos, Brooke Shields — and the food is as awful as the fashion. Or another favorite: A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price, a collection of all the menus that the famous horror maestro and his wife collected over their world travels in the ‘40s and ‘50s and the meals that they hosted for their friends in their exquisite Hollywood home. If I could jump into the pages of a cookbook, it might be that one.
― Adam Roberts, Interview, OutSFL
What booksellers are saying about Food Person
- Food Person is a fun, food-focused book starring an aspiring NYC food writer who lands the best (or worst) job: ghostwriting a cookbook for a washed-up actress who can’t make a salad to save her life. With a charming indie bookstore focused on selling cookbooks as one of protagonist Isabella’s happy places, author Adam Roberts drops all the best culinary titles and authors in this delightful story. Take notes and add these to your TBR pile! Read this for a fun escape that even includes a side of romance.
― Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Georgia | BUY
- A floundering food writer who dreams of writing her own cookbook gets paired with a volatile has-been starlet looking to make a comeback to ghostwrite a cookbook for her. What could possibly go wrong? Adam Roberts will make you laugh (sometimes nervously) and will leave you super hungry with this comedy of manners.
― Melissa Taylor, E. Shaver, Bookseller, Savannah, Georgia | BUY
- Fun and funny, Food Person is full of interesting and quirky characters with lots of food world name dropping. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel! Adam Roberts “nailed it”! I’ll be recommending this to folks who loved Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel.
― Lynne Phillips, Wordsworth Books, Little Rock, Arkansas | BUY
- Food Person is a tasty debut that explores the world of food writing and cookbooks through the eyes of a ghostwriter. Giving Devil Wears Prada vibes for a new generation, a struggling food writer is paired with an actress/influencer to write a much-delayed cookbook. This book will keep you guessing and make you incredibly hungry!
― Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, North Carolina | BUY
About Adam Roberts
Adam Roberts is the author of The Amateur Gourmet, Secrets of the Best Chefs, and Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway. He started his food blog The Amateur Gourmet in 2004, and also hosts the podcast Lunch Therapy. Roberts has also written for The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, and for film and television. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog Winston. Food Person is his first novel.
