The cover shows a big pink doughnut floating in space. It’s probably covered with strawberry or raspberry sauce, with some sprinkles.
Name: Interstellar MegaChef
Author: Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Format: Hardcopy
Number of pages: 453
Availability: Amazon (Buy the paperback here)
Rating: 3/5
The story was all about the title and everything related to Interstellar MegaChef, the biggest cooking show in the galaxy.
The English language was very easy to understand, wherever English was written, that is. The rest of the language is probably from another planet because I did not understand many words and Google also seemed to give me the finger! Hahaha!
There were words like masas, anno, stalacto-mods, spice jus, ras, xir, xe, ossiowave, chlorosapient, etc.
The following were probably cuss words for the cosmos: sur-f***, star-f******, sun-f*****, etc.
Nava, I figured, was probably used for a ‘week’ because the blurb said that Ko was given ‘two weeks mandatory leave’ while in the book Grace Kube (Ko’s boss) said, “I’m putting you on ‘mandatory leave for two navas’ so you can calm down and gather your thoughts”. I was glad that the mystery was solved. I still didn’t get what ‘masas’ referred to though I guess it was ‘months’ because ‘years’ was used as is.
Nevertheless, the English word that was new to me plus fascinating was degustation. Will remember it the next time I’m invited to a food review event.
Saraswati Kaveri gets a message from Grace Aurelle, Chief Chef, Interstellar MegaChef Studios, that she (Kaveri) has been selected to compete in the galaxy’s most watched, most prestigious cooking show called Interstellar MegaChef. Upset with her family and what she feels about her life, Kaveri packs her belongings and travels to Primus. After not only losing but being insulted on such a huge public platform, Kaveri loses hope.
On the other hand, Serenity Ko (aka Komala Siriharan) was looking forward to the promotion she was working so hard for. Instead, she is forced to take a two-week sabbatical to get her work-life balance back. In the comfort of her home, around food that brought memories, she had an idea – a new project that was food-related. But, she didn’t even know the ‘f’ of food.
You should read how Kaveri and Ko get together to participate and bedazzle some celebrity judges in a special episode of Interstellar MegaChef: The Millennium Feast Special.
*It showed how we are running the race of life trying to make a name for ourselves or get validation from strangers when, mostly, family is the only one who loves us however we are. With family, we are most relaxed, unless the family is egoistic and reputation means everything to them.
*I liked the new project that both Kaveri and Ko were working on. A sim for food where every bite could simulate dreams making one relive their happiest memories.
*It showed us that people who don’t know how to cook, like Ko, who didn’t even know what a nanospoon was (neither do I), let alone cook anything (I can probably prepare 5 dishes that won’t kill the people who consume them), can also do wonders in life.
*Ko (non-kitchen person) and Kaveri (passionate about each ingredient involved in cooking) proved that teamwork makes winning a competition even more plausible.
*I learned about a new Kerala dish named Meen Pollichathu.
*Even if there were errors, I wouldn’t know because the book was mostly Greek to me, barring a few English words and sentences here and there that allowed me to understand the big picture.
While reading this book was like trying to understand a Martian, you get the gist of what the story is all about. It took me some time to get used to the cosmos jargon but it was a pretty decent story which I honestly thought wasn’t for me.
If you enjoy science fiction or fantasy, please get this book and let me know your thoughts on it. I’d really love to know in detail.
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2 Comments
Wow, I’m a huge fantasy and scifi nut but the problems you have pointed out, gosh, I would be lost and probably DNF it because of the jargon.
Wow, Suchita, being a sci-fi person I thought you’d identify those mysterious words! I’m not alone then!