Seattle sous-chef Kate Linden is shocked to hear that her longtime (now ex) boyfriend, Gaston, is engaged to another woman. He spent many years trying to get Kate to marry him, but she just didn’t feel he was the right man for her. Plus, Kate is practically married to her job, and she’s good at it. Yet Gaston’s announcement hits her hard, and she can’t seem to get past the regrets. Kate wonders if he just might be the right one for her after all. This realization starts Kate on a quest to win Gaston back.

Just as her re-invention plan begins to take shape, Kate loses her job. Reeling from this huge hole in her identity, she takes it as a sign that maybe she needs a “normal” career, one that will leave her time to pursue relationships, good grooming, and sleep. Through a twist of fate, Gaston gets her a job with his company, and it looks like things are falling into place so Kate will have the man of her dreams again. Or is he truly what she wants?

Cooking for Mr. Right has all of the elements for an ideal book for foodie chick-lit lovers. Kate is wishy-washy with her love life. She doesn’t want Gaston when she has him, but when he gets engaged to someone else, suddenly she wants him again. At twenty-six, she’s understandably going through some questioning of the choices she has made and is making. Is she in the right career? What if Gaston was her only chance at true love? Kate’s realistic move to maturity is both refreshing and inspiring.

The food references are mouth-wateringly described, and fortunately, the author provides recipes in the back of the book. Some of the recipes are ones I never would have tried had they not been delectably included in the plot of Cooking for Mr. Right. Couple the romance with food, add a sprinkle of humor and a dash of originality, and you have a combination that will leave you feeling satisfied.