Stefan works as the kitchen porter at the incredible hotel but he dreams of being a chef. When the hotel prepares to celebrate it's 100th birthday, everyone is frantic working to make things perfect and Stefan is made to feel less than, so he leaves. Naturally disaster follows until the chef can see that Stefan is quite skilled. Whimsical illustrations add to the story.

At heart, this book tells a fairly standard story of a young person being undervalued because of their youth. It carries, then, messaging about how every person contributes to the whole and the importance of treating people with respect. The details won't be familiar to most. The average child has no experience with the inner working of a fancy hotel so it gives us a sense of peeking behind the curtain. The individual details are unique and the illustrations are wonderful, expressive and dynamic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto for the ARC of this incredible picture book!

This was such a cute story, and my 7 year old enjoyed it! I loved the illustrations.

A truly charming picture book! What a lovely read!
Stefan is a young kitchen porter who dreams of becoming a chef. It truly is a wonderful book about believing in yourself and never leaving your kind side behind. Stefan always uses his extremely kind heart and it shines throughout the story.
This story can definitely become a fan favourite to be read over and over again. The illustrations are gorgeous and really tie in well with the writing.

5★
“You couldn’t ask for a more wonderful place to stay. Everything runs like clockwork.”

From go to whoa, the team that runs the Incredible Hotel in Delaunay works like clockwork because each person knows when to do what, starting with young Stefan.

[My Goodread review includes some screenshots of the illustrations. The caption for Picture 1:}
“Every morning at 5am, Stefan the kitchen porter brews the coffee …
which wakes the chef …who makes the breakfast …
to give to the butler...to take to the Hotel Manager.”

Then the day ends with Stefan, dreaming as he works.

The caption for Picture 2:
“And every night at 11pm, as the Hotel Manager takes his bath …
and the chef eats her dinner, perfectly seasoned as usual …
Stefan does the washing up, and dreams of making cakes.”

But kitchen porters don’t make cakes. They carry and clean.

The caption for Picture 3:
“and say ‘YES CHEF!’ even when they want to say ‘No’!”

Then early one day, Mr Starch, the manager, announces that they are going to hold a grand ball to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the hotel. To top it off, the Duchess of Delaunay will be coming, and she is known for being so picky that she shuts down hotels!

What to do? Mr Starch says the Duchess loves profiteroles, so he asks the chef to create a big profiterole tower – “the tallest, creamiest, most profiteroley tower in history.”

Everybody gets to work, baking, cleaning, and preparing the hotel. The chef keeps building her profiterole tower but it wasn’t sticking together. Stefan has been making coffee to keep her awake and is allowed to whip the cream, but when he suggests using caramel to hold her tower in place, she scolds him, says his coffee isn’t good and tells him to get out of her kitchen “and DON’T COME BACK!”

She laughs “a horrible laugh” when he says he wants to be a chef.

As he walks away sadly, we see everyone in the hotel polishing and preparing for the ball. Stefan goes home, makes some good coffee and a wonderful profiterole tower!

The caption for Picture 4:
“But he didn’t have the heart to eat it.”

The next day,

The caption for Picture 5:
“On the morning of the ball, without Stefan, things did not run like clockwork at The Incredible Hotel. No one brewed the coffee to wake the chef …
so she didn’t make the breakfast …”

and so on and so on. If you can see the middle picture, you will notice the bread burning in the oven – oops! The fire department comes running as the chef cries out!

The caption for Picture 6:
“MY KITCHEN!... My recipe book! My profiterole tower! Help, Stefan! There isn’t a moment to lose!”

No Stefan. The Duchess and guests are arriving already, so the manager suggests a tour of the grounds! But the Duchess says she has been promised dancing and a profiterole tower.

The caption for Picture 7:
“Before Mr Starch could stop her… she marched into the grand ballroom.”

The Duchess is drenched, getting angrier and angrier, threatening to broadcast far and wide that the hotel is not incredible, it is TERRIBLE.

“She stormed to the door with her nose in the air – But then she stopped and sniffed. She could smell something creamy, something chocolatey, something truly incredible…”

The caption for Picture 9:
“THE PROFITEROLE TOWER.
‘You’re back!’ cried Mr. Starch. ‘I saw the fire, and I wanted to help,’ said Stefan.”
The Duchess takes a bite and pronounces it sublime! When she congratulates the chef, Mr Starch introduces Stefan, the kitchen porter. The chef shouts “NO! He’s not our kitchen porter anymore… he’s our PASTRY CHEF! That is, if he would like to be…”

As if there would be any doubt! Yes, Stefan would, and he helps everyone create a wonderful back-to-front feast after which the chef presents him with a chef’s hat.

“He felt as tall as the profiterole tower.”

These days you will find Stefan, in the kitchen, baking up a storm, including his famous profiteroles, and he’s still brewing the coffee every morning. We see him and the chef clinking coffee cups at a table with some of his goodies.

This has to be one of my favourite children’s books. It has 32 full-size pages of delightful detail and humour, beautifully illustrated. The characters all have expressive faces, and there are background scenes and little animals tucked here and there. The use of detail and humour reminds me of how much my family enjoyed the Richard Scarry books, with amusing hidden gems to find.

As an example, on the page where the Duchess is arriving for the celebrations, we can see part of something through a window behind her. It turns out to be Stefan, carrying his enormous profiterole into the hotel. All we see is his leg, a hand, and a lot of colourful objects. I expect there is more to find if I look.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the preview copy of #TheIncredibleHotel.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Incredible Hotel is a fun and inspirational children's picture book with a great message to both young and old. Stefan works at the Incredible Hotel as a kitchen porter and dreams of one day becoming a chef. On the day of a Duchess’s visit, a fire ruins the preparations for the Grand Ball. Stefan saves the day by baking an amazing tower of profiteroles despite everyone's doubts of his skills and capabilities only being a porter.
I loved how inspiring and encouraging this story was. It shows that with hard work, determination, confidence, ambition and belief in yourself you can achieve all you want and more.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book
-------
A book about a chef who had not been appreciate it as he wanted to be, plus he really deserved because of his wonderful ideas

A book who tells us to not give up when someone says to you are not be able to do something. Whether you do whatever to get that, you would be capable to do it, despite it is not easy at all.

that was what i liked it hella much.

5.0

This is not a book I will encourage my children to read. The people in this book were not nice and did not demonstrate attitudes that I want my children to have examples of.

The incredible hotel runs perfectly, as long as the first step is done properly. When Stefan, the kitchn porter makes the coffee, it causes the next thing to happen and so on. He wants to be a chef and he works on his own to perfect his cooking stills. When the chef fires him, things don't go the way the should. It just so happens that the Duchess of Delaunay arrives to make sure everything is ready for the Grand Ball. Because Stefan didn't make the coffee, the chef didn't wake up and so on. There is a fire in the kitchen and nothing is ready for the ball. Can Stefan save the day?

My older grandson enjoyed this one a lot and recognized immediately that without Stefan the Incredible Hotel wasn't so incredible. Of course the message of everyone being important no matter how large your role seems to be was well presented, but the younger two didn't really get it. I also liked the message of not giving up on your dreams as Stefan eventually becomes a chef. We enjoyed reading about the chaos and how it was sorted out and that the ball was able to carry on. An interesting story, but I'm not sure about the age range. The illustrations were great and we spent time looking at them and talking about what we saw almost as much as reading the story.

Here's a sweet and amusing tale of a lowly hotel kitchen porter who yearns to be a chef. This fun behind-the-scenes look at the running of a hotel is made extra-special by artist Isabelle Follath's AMAZING illustrations. They are lovely, and so packed with details, you'll want to open the book again as soon as you finish to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Stefan may only be a kitchen porter at The Incredible Hotel, but he's the first step in a system that keeps the whole place running every day. Without him there, things go terribly wrong. And with a fire overtaking the hotel just as the Duchess is set to arrive, losing Stefan could prove to be a disaster. But his creativity and determination win the day when he shows up just in time with a showstopping cake that convinces the Duchess The Incredible Hotel is still pretty incredible.

I adored the illustrations of food in this sweet picture book about following your dreams, and how no job is unimportant and no one should be looked down upon.

Book 102 of 200 ~ 2023

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love the Wes Anderson (one of my fave directors) vibe that this book gives.

The illustrations and story are so clever and zi thoroughly enjoyed each page.

No surprise, the ending was a sweet one :)

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to the author, Frances Lincoln Children's Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This children's book is stunningly illustrated, filled with innumerable small details that enchanted me. The story that follows the hopes and dreams of the young porter at the bottom of the totem pole in the kitchen of a truly grand hotel. We see how - even in his lowly position - he plays a crucial part in the functioning of the hotel, and he saves the day when a very important personage visits the hotel. This leads to a change in his role, as he is given space and the freedom to fulfil his dreams. Overall wonderful, highly recommend!

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Okay this was a really cute one! I loved the illustrations in this and the colours that they use, but also following the story of the main character! Will definitely recommend the school library purchase this!

Stefan, a kitchen porter, dreams of making cakes in the Incredible Hotel's kitchens, but isn't allowed to do anything but make coffee and move things. Then, the Duchess of Delaunay decides to attend a ball at the hotel, sending all the staff into a tizzy of preparation.

This is a story about dreaming and achieving one's dreams. I love the quirkiness of the story and its beautiful illustrations as we see how indispensable Stefan actually is. And how his creativity and dedication saves the day.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Quarto Publishing Group -Frances Lincoln Children's Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Ideal for 5 year olds to read one to one or with a group.
Cute drawings and a storyline that makes kids interest in cooking.
The only downside was that the chef (pointed out to be "not very nice") speaks quite rudely, which sets a bad example

Suitably charming look at a grand old hotel, where everything has to be just so, but when the one guest that can close the whole thing down at a whim turns up for its century, and the profiterole tower just isn't quite perfect, well – the cheeky little kitchen porter thinks he knows best. Shame really, because he does – but when he gets fired the whole thing goes to pot. A very well done look at hidden talents in the humble, this has the readability and the visual craft to get a strong four stars, at least.

Read slowly so you don’t miss anything in the fun illustrations! A want-to-be baker working on the bottom rings of the hotel fights to prove his worth. A tragic invent gives him the chance to show his dedication.

What a feast for the eyes! The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and fit superbly with the charming story. A perfect reminder of how teamwork makes the dream work. I can't wait to share this with my new class when we return to school after the holidays as it will be perfect for storytime.

• I must start with the illustrations in this book – they are phenomenal! This book is full of engaging, full-color, fun, and gorgeous illustrations! It gave me vibes of the elaborate illustrations that used to be in books when I was a kid. Kudos to the illustrator because the artwork is outstanding. (Be sure to look for the cat and mouse hiding on each page.)

• The story is awesome too! It is about a kitchen porter who dreams of being a pastry chef but isn’t seen as anything other than a porter. However, he saves the day with an amazing bake after everything goes terribly wrong during a visit from a Duchess. The message to reach for your dreams is prominent.

• I loved that the book had a ton of food vocabulary words in it that will likely be new for children – like profiterole, concoction, recipe, souffles, and more.

• The characters are delightful, the story is engaging, the ending is very satisfying, the message is uplifting, and the illustrations are amazing. Think Downton Abbey meets the Junior British Bake Off! It’s a great combination!

• This book is delightful and would entertain any child, but you really must get this book if you have a budding chef in your life!

Thank you @netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Francis Lincoln Children’s Books for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.