This graphic novel was immaculate. The art style was unique, expressive and beautiful to look at, the characters were extremely well-developed and relatable for such a short story, AND the writing was hilarious, inventive and so wholesome. Also can we just talk about the mouth-watering depictions of delicious food in this story? And the ADORABLE romance sprinkled throughout?! Reading this gave me so much joy and I connected with and loved all of the characters so deeply.

I would recommend this book for fans of graphic novels like Check, Please! first and foremost, but also for fans of low-key contemporary romance novels, as this graphic novel art style and format was so accessible.

Thank you so much to Oni Press for this e-arc!

This was such a lovely comic.
It's about growth, romance and best of all: food, which looks ridiculously good.

Ben Cook (yeah, I know) has just finished school and moved in with his friends, ready for new adventures in the grown up world. Unfortunately it doesn't go as planned as finding a job proves more difficult than he imagined.
One day he walks by a restaurant looking for a new cook, and here his life gets turned upside down with the help of a good looking chef, an angry manager and a pig who's a really picky eater.

It was just a really good slice of life comic, with a splash of romance and a ton of cuteness!

Absolutely loved this! The aesthetic is pleasing; the story is captivating. Suspense right up until the last panel! Well done! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

A sweet, light story of a new college grad who discovers a passion for cooking (and meets a handsome sous chef) at an unusual restaurant. It’s fairly chaste — nothing more graphic than a smooch and some hunky shirtlessness.

I had fun, and romance readers from middle school on up will too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for letting me read this ARC. #ChefsKiss #NetGalley

This was adorable. I definitely judged it by its cover and was hoping for Bitty and Jack vibes from Check Please but I really enjoyed this in its entirety. I would love to read a sequel.

Chef's Kiss begins as its protagonist, Ben Cook, is packing away his college dorm and setting forth on the next chapter of his life. Soon after, Ben finds that the job market is not exactly thriving for an English major with zero professional experience. Luckily, he chances upon a help wanted sign outside a local restaurant and walks in. Not only does he find a job he's surprisingly adept at but he also meets a cute sous-chef named Liam to crush in. What follows is Ben's struggle to find work-life balance, meet the expectations of his parents and figure out if his work crush is picking up what he's serving outside of the kitchen.

This was cute and well-illustrated. A few of the characters come across as too whimsical for their own good but it's nothing that's too grating to get past. Go in expecting more of a character study of Ben than a romance and his tale of post-uni woes will definitely resonate!

New college graduate Ben struggles to find a job in his chosen field of writing, but soon stumbles across an opportunity as a sous-chef in a restaurant. He grows to enjoy the work and develops feelings for his coworker, but knows that his parents won't be happy with his possible change in vocation, and the tension within him builds.

So, this was cute. The art style was adorable, the story was fluffy, and of course it's always nice to see a gay character whose sexuality is not the main point of conflict. However, for me, it lacked depth. All struggles are fairly surface level, and I couldn't feel emotionally connected. The ending was also slightly unsatisfying.

But again, fluffy, cute, adorable, and entertaining. In the same vein as Pumpkinheads in my opinion.

{3.5 stars rounded up]

"Chef's Kiss" was lots of fun to read! Ben finds his calling at a restaurant while looking for writing jobs, thus leading him on a whimsical journey of pleasing the head chef's pet pig with his culinary creations! The friendships in this were sweet and relatable, and the budding romance (while a little abrupt and cliche) was cute and sweet.

(Side note: Vlad the Inhaler bong joke made me snort soda through my nose, so kudos on that.)

The art is clean and vibrant, very modern graphic novel in it's style. Overall a fun read!

Ben Cook is newly graduated from college and looking for his first job in the writing world. After many interviews with no luck he stumbles upon a help wanted sign at a restaurant. He gets the job temporarily with his actual hiring defendant on passing some cooking tests and pleasing the palate of Watson, the food tasting pig. One of the reasons for Ben wanting to work there is handsome sous chef Liam.

The graphics in this novel are great with lots of detail. Ben's friends/roommates (2 girls, 1 guy) are supportive of each other and distinct. The story itself is a little simple. The book is only 125 pages on my device and a couple of those pages are spent in a yoga class and getting a fake history of Watson. It really comes down to Ben deciding what he wants to do work wise and exploring a potential romance with Liam. The book contains a few mild curse words and one kiss. I think it is appropriate for high school and up. Thank you NetGalley and One Press for an digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Personally, I enjoyed the story. It's new and exciting. Ben is a recent graduate looking for writing jobs, and after many failed interviews, he came across a chef job that required no experience. He was able to meet restaurants' sous chefs, whom he adored. He begins working at the restaurant and lies to his parents about getting a job as a writer. However, things do not go as planned. Is he jeopardising his friendship and writing career by falling in love with Liam?

I would love to keep and add a physical copy to my collection!

Very sweet lgbt comic. Loved the characters and the set up. Can’t wait to see if there are more volumes.

This book was cute and a quick read. Although the romance felt a little rushed and some of the dynamics between the characters just felt off. It was a cute read under 200 pages but I wouldn’t reread it

I loved this! This book was absolutely adorable with the art style and the story. I loved the characters (Watson is my new favorite pig!) and the story was great. The art was really good as well. I want to sit here and gush about this for hours.
If you are into graphic novel romances in the vain of Check Please then this is for you! Its a very different story but the atmosphere is similar and it's just as sweet and adorable.

This graphic novel was everything I could hope for. A queer story about what it's like to navigate the world right after college. Not being sure what you want to do with your life and ending up on a path that you didn't see coming. I adored everything about this book.

Ben Cook cannot break his way into a job after college. He's caught in the post-undergrad cycle of needing job experience to get hired, and thus he cannot get the experience since no one will hire him. That is until he stumbles across a "no experience needed" job at a restaurant, but first he must impress the chef with his skills, and even more importantly, impress the test-tasting pig that lives behind the restaurant, Watson. Will Ben be able to pass the test? And in his attempts to do so, what else will he lose or gain along the way?

"Chef's Kiss" biggest success is in its cast of characters. We see a wide range of people in the span of what is about a 100 page graphic novel, and yet they are all fleshed out and bring a unique and necessary charm to the story. Despite this, I did find myself annoyed with certain characters at points, for instance Rachel's "Shakespeare jargon," phase felt forced and rather faked. Perhaps this was the authors intent to make her annoying, however it wasn't necessarily clear what our perspective on this was supposed to be.

The most unique part of the story is Watson, a test-tasting pig who gained its testing abilities in a moment of magical realism. Watson must approve of all of Ben's dishes before he gets hired. While I love an absurd charm to a story, there was something to this that felt distant and out of place from the rest of a very well-realized story about new adult struggles. From keeping in contact with one's parents, to career searching, to relationships, everything regarding post-undergrad experiences was very well established.

Given this is a graphic novel, I also would like to take a moment to commend the artwork and formatting. All the illustrations help build the world and helped create a sense of movement vs stagnancy (a major theme in the story), while also being quite stunning to look at. The text and illustrations compliment each other to create a charmed story of early-20s life, that has yet to find its footing in balancing with magical realism.

I absolutely adored this graphic novel, full of humor, warmth and romance, while all the while tackling the serious. topic of finding yourself after college.

The illustration style harmonizes well with the story being told and it will be hard for any reader not to fall head over heals in love with the characters.

This was such a delightful story about Ben trying to find himself in his own world. His parents have pressured him his entire life to be what he wants, but when the job market doesn’t cooperate, he takes a chance on a job as a cook at a quirky vegetarian restaurant with an interesting head chef and behind the scenes partner! This story is sweet and heartfelt. Fans of Check, Please will like this one, too!

A richly-drawn and detailed visual and narrative graphic novel, really a character study through pictures. Very well done and worth reading.

In Chef’s Kiss, Ben tries to find his place and himself after graduation, while facing a discouraging job search and the ever-looming fear of disappointing his parents. The book is at turns funny, instructive, and introspective, although maybe a bit wordier than I expected. The art style and colors are appealing and well-balanced. Dynamics between Ben and his roommates/friends—as well as his new coworkers, and Winston the food-critic pig (!!!)—are rich and delightfully portrayed, and the characters are engaging. I’d happily hang out with any/all of them. And eat their food!

A sweet and savory tale of navigating your dreams and the expectations of others, with a hint of romance to garnish the dish.

I would eat here—would eat this—again.

Sweet, although a bit too simple at times, Chef's Kiss delivers exactly what it sets out to do: a cute gay romance story.