
Member Reviews

From working sixty-hour weeks in windowless kitchens and being the only woman in the changing room to the pure thrill of a busy service, falling in love with other chefs and cycling home through a city bubbling over with potential, Slutty Cheff's misadventures in food and sex are about experiencing and embracing life to the fullest. The pleasure and the chaos included . . .
I found this a really good read giving insights into the world of professional kitchens to male-female work relationship. Its well written, has a good pace with likeable characters in the main. I found it quite refreshing and different.

This wasn’t really my type of book but the insight into behind-the-scenes of London’s top restaurants and the descriptions of food were enjoyable but the details of the sexual escapades liveup to the author’s nickname! It was a bit too ‘out there’ for me. This book is written in the present tense in a rough and ready manner at times although that’s part of the charm.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is one for the foodies , one for the gossip queens and for anyone who loves a racy romcom! It may be a memoir but I consumed this like fiction novel . It’s The Bear but in London and from a female perspective . It’s addictive , it will have you raging yet also laughing . I just wanted this to go on and on , I feel like I could have read about the shenanigans forever more ! Great read and I want this to be dramatised SO bad !!

I’m probably not this book’s target audience, but I’m sure it’ll be popular with my customers who enjoy Dolly Alderton etc. A fun read.

This missed the mark for me. As much as I wanted to enjoy this erotica novel based around a food lover set on becoming a chef, it came over as desperate and crass over erotic.

I'm not really sure what I expected from this book, but I wasn't quite fulfilled. Maybe I expected a really nice meal, but ended up with a pre-made sandwich? It was a repetitive whining about how hard it is being a chef mixed with sexual explorations.

Tart opens in a frenetic pace, setting up the tone for the overall tone for the book – a heady, raunchy romp about the intermingling of food and sex as a young chef makes her way through the London food scene. It's a tribute to the author's love for the capital, but also the meaning she constantly (re)discovers through ingredients and food, a cerebral and all-consuming experience that she frequently compares to the act of lovemaking. It's self-deprecating in a growing pains kind of way, and in a very British sort of way.
I liked hearing all about the industry, the status that being a chef brings, the status that being a *man* brings. For all its humor, I shied away from some of the more lewd scenes, which may be intended as a namesake to her moniker, but was much more gripped when she dived into the passion of food, her declining mental state and the deep rooted sexism in the hospitality industry.
Slutty Cheff's internal monologue is amusing, and I'm sure is relatable for many of the twentysomethings in the big smoke, forging their destinies among small plates and womanizing men. Overall an entertaining and voyeuristic look into the seedy underbelly of the food scene, where chaos and calamity ensues.

I picked up Tart with no prior knowledge of Slutty Cheff herself, drawn instead by the promise of a deep dive into the behind-the-scenes chaos and charm of the restaurant world. What I discovered was an entertaining and sharply observed account of life in London’s fine dining scene, told with wit, honesty, and a generous dash of irreverence.
At its heart, Tart is about a woman stepping away from the safety net of corporate life to follow her passion for food. What follows is a vibrant, often raw depiction of kitchen culture – the camaraderie, the exhaustion, the impossible hours, and the quiet triumphs that come with a perfectly executed service. There’s something deeply compelling about the way the author captures the energy of a kitchen in full swing, the adrenaline, the mess, the madness, and the joy.
Though the title and the persona might suggest a raunchy romp – and yes, there’s sex, flirtation, and a fair bit of saucy humour – what stood out to me was the focus on food. The sex is more of a garnish than the main course, adding spice to what is, at its core, a book about a woman carving out space in a male-dominated industry and finding her own rhythm.
Slutty Cheff writes with both grit and charm. She doesn’t shy away from the grim realities – the unrelenting shifts, the unwelcoming attitudes, the physical toll – but she also celebrates the magic. The early mornings cycling through a sleepy city, the heat of a kitchen on a busy night, and the triumph of small wins. If you’re interested in food, hospitality, or the lives of women in high-pressure spaces, this is a thoroughly relevant and enjoyable read.
Read more at The Secret Book Review.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this erotica novel based around a foodies adventures on becoming a chef, unfortunately it just didn’t work for me.
The erotic scenes for me missed the mark and came off more lewd and for the shock value and I didn’t connect with the main character - she seemed unable to help herself and make meaningful growth on her journey.

An incredibly wild ride into the London culinary scene - it started off a bit slowly but once it got going it was incredibly pacy and I felt like I was there in the kitchen with the author, right beside the pass, feeling the heat as she scrambled against the clock to plate up her dishes and banter with the (male!) team.

Loved this - such an evocative and engaging memoir, replete with mouth watering food descriptions. I tore through it and overall it was delicious. Great cover as well!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Tart, which is a fitting title, is about the contemporary restaurant scene, its kitchen and front, and a young woman chef’s love life.
Before requesting the book, I was not familiar with Slutty Cheff, and requested the book solely because of my interest in the food scene, food, the kitchen, hospitality and being curious about the experiences of a woman chef.
I felt like the sex and food had the right balance, with more emphasis on the food, and the sex and the funny commentary of the Slutty Cheff serving as a dressing to add or amplify flavours.
Admittedly, I was more into the food scene aspect.
This is an engaging and entertaining book, and it is relevant.
After reading it, I read a couple of the author’s articles. I would certainly read more by her, especially if food stays as the main character. Have I said food?
Food.

This book does not hold anything back! The honesty and exhilaration from the author brings you so clearly into the center of her world and you can only try your best to keep up. I flitted between laughing out loud and having hunger pangs for the phenomenal food cooked!

I have never worked in a restaurant (although I have worked in food hospitality before) and I have actually never read Slutty Cheff before this, but something compelled me to request this from NetGalley (probably my love of Boiling Point) and I am glad I did! I really enjoyed this book written by an anonymous chef working in London restaurants – the writing is chaotic but good, the food descriptions were excellent, and she conjured up the hectic pace of a kitchen and restaurant life so well. I want to read a sequel, or two. I wanted to read a much longer book. Only complaint is that this book needed a copyedit – I hope all the inconsistencies and contradictions with timelines and locations etc are all sorted out before pub date!