This is another of those Japanese novels that gives us a series of interconnected stories about people suffering some kind of kids that find healing in something; drinking coffee before it gets cold, tasting a fish of food just like ? used to make it, or in this case talking to a loved one's who has been summoned back by the smell of the steam from a favourite food.

I do rather enjoy these 'healing stories', and I like the episodic nature of them; not quite short stories, but books you can dip in and out of, but I have to admit the concept is getting a little tired. That said, I liked this one more than most, though I couldn't really say why, perhaps the stories were a little less formulaic than most. I would be interested in reading in this series, but I think I need to space them out a bit more.

*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I loved the concept and authors way of writing. All the four stories were heartwarming. It was like an escape from the chaotic world and being in peace. A true healing fiction in my view.

Wow, this book is simply wonderful! It is a beautifully written story that shows the journey of grief, the emotional pain and how life can guide us to a place, that enables us to feel safe to take a step into healing and forgiveness. The relationship with food, that can trigger warmth and soothing memories is exquisitely described in this book and I was eating it all up. I love the additional recipes and the reading experience stirred a perfect blend of emotions within me. I was consistently moved throughout the whole book and it had me in the palm of its hand with tenderness.

I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and all those involved in blessing me with an ARC copy of this wonderful book.

Cute feel-good stories like this don’t need a lengthy review. The Chibineko Kitchen (Nov 2024) by Yuta Takahashi and translated by Cat Anderson is really a delight for those who are into this kind of stuff.

This is the first book of yet another soul-healing food-related series coming out of Japan. I saw that there are already 8 books in this series released in Japan so far. Honestly speaking, I haven’t heard of the Japanese series or this author before, so out of curiosity, I requested for the e-ARC.

It centres around Chibineko Kitchen, a seaside eatery that serves kagezen or remembrance meal for a deceased. Each chapter tells a different story with different characters, but they are all connected. The characters get to meet their deceased loved ones briefly in this magical place. There’s a sense of melancholy that prevails in each story, but at the same time, there’s also a growing sense of hope. I think that’s a pretty standard offering for such storyline.

And of course, as one can guess from the title of the book, there’s a cat involved.

Fascinating and heart-warming, this book makes a great comfort read, a particularly good ‘palate cleanser’ after a heavy-themed book. The best part of the book? Each chapter ends with a mouthwatering recipe for the remembrance meal featured in the chapter.

And, I don't mean to judge a book by its cover but isn't this one of the prettiest covers ever? 😆

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher John Murray Press for the e-ARC.

i have been looking forward to reading this book ever since it was announced, and i am so grateful to the publisher for giving me an advance reader’s copy! ♥️♥️♥️ will be posting my full review on @chroniqled on instagram!

Another version of drinking coffee until it is hot, only this time it involves eating until the dishes smoke. I'm so sick of reading umpteen variations on the theme of “clearing things up with dead people” that I would really appreciate a book band with the warning about the subject.

Un'altra versione del caffé da bere finché sia caldo, solo che stavolta si tratta di mangiare fino a che le pietanze fumino. Sono cosí stufa di leggere ennesime variazioni sul tema "chiarire cose con persone morte" che apprezzerei molto una fascetta con l'avvertimento sul libro.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

4.5 stars rounded down. A sweet story which sees a few people who have lost loved ones, journey to a restaurant where they can eat a remembrance meal - their loved one will appear to them until the food goes cold. It’s a fairly short book at 184 pages, but this means there’s no padding. It is like the food - just right, and heartwarming.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

The Chibineko Kitchen is set in a seaside town few hours from Tokyo. The restaurant is owned by Nanami where she serves remembrance meals, and in her absence, Kai her son runs the small restaurant.

The concept of remembrance meals, the name and idea behind the restaurant is well explained. The story is pretty small, it is a quick read you'll want to finish reading in a sitting. We meet just 3 customers for whom Kai cooks meals with whom by the end of the story his life entwines with in some way.
The meals give it's eaters a last chance, last hope of being wit their loved one .

I loved the concept of the book also the length of it, had it been longer it would've lost some of it's warmth and charm. What was better than the start is it's ending which I loved, with Kai getting together with Kotoko.

The story is a refreshing way to look and help with one's grief and remembering a loved one. It's warm,affirming and charming and I finished it in a day.

Do you love Japanese fiction and a book that gives you that warm, peaceful feeling? Then look no further than The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi.

Reading this book was definitely reminiscent of the ‘Before the coffee gets cold’ series (by Toshikazu Kawaguchi) but as much as I love those books, for me this was even better. At Chibineko Kitchen, you can be served a remembrance meal in memory of your loved ones and whilst that meal is steaming hot, your loved one will visit you one last time.

Each character we meet is grieving for someone and is struggling to go on in their grief or live with the guilt they feel, but once they experience the remembrance meals, they get a new appreciation of life and go on wanting to live life to the full, to honour those they have loved but lost.

This is a lovely, comforting read and relatively short and I highly recommend it if you usually enjoy Japanese fiction.

The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi is a heartwarming and whimsical tale that beautifully combines food, family, and the charm of a small café run by an endearing cast of characters. Takahashi weaves a delightful narrative centered around a cozy kitchen where heartwarming meals and magical moments bring people together. The story captures the essence of comfort food, the power of community, and the bonds that form over shared meals. With vivid descriptions of delicious dishes and a sense of warmth that permeates every page, The Chibineko Kitchen is a feel-good read perfect for lovers of culinary fiction, charming characters, and stories that celebrate the simple joys of life.

As I was strolling through the digital shelves of Netgalley, I one day decided to just go ahead and request another book written by a Japanese author. Don’t ask me why—I’m pretty sure you already know the reason. I was drawn in by the title and cover. Anyway, I requested the title with little to no expectations, and the day I returned from the travel agency, I think I found it in my inbox (thank you, Netgalley!). On another note, I think I will now chill with the ARC requests for the remaining year (granted I do not get tangled with another cleverly drawn cover and well thought title…).

The Book Title and Cover

My favorite color is sapphire blue and interestingly enough, this book’s cover used a pretty shade of blue too. It was instant attraction. The mountain, the sea, the lonely cabin in the background, and the path paved with seashells on which a tiny little cat is guiding us on.

At a first glance, I figured this must be a cozy tale, but the loneliness that lingered in the foreground made me wonder if this wasn’t, in fact, a well thought out plan. An it kind of was.

When I requested the book, I also tried to figure out what the name meant, although I was very very slow. You can probably tell how bad the few Japanese words I used to know escaped me. I mean, they were staring me right in the face. Chibi Neko. Little Cat. The Kitchen with a Little Cat. Again, considering the book events, accurate.

The Characters and Plot
Kotoko’s older brother, a promising actor, died in a car accident. He tried to save his little sister. They weren’t extraordinarily close, but his death had a long lasting impact on the young woman. She blamed herself for everything and she desperately wanted to rewind time. As she went around, more of a ghost of herself, she learned about a seemingly magical place, a kitchen with a kitten, where the saff served remembrance meals.

Although initially reluctant, Kotoko eventually decides to pay them a visit. After all, if fate allowed, she could meet her dead brother once more. The first person she encounters, though, is the restaurant’s young chef, Kai, who greatly reminds her of her own brother. The interaction is brief, but everlasting and leads to various future interactions between the two, throughout the book.

Thoughts

The story begins with Kotoko, however her life is entangled with other people, first time visitors at the Chibineko Kitchen. Well, most of them anyway. The fun part is that as they all walk over the threshold of the kitchen with a kitten, all characters without a fail, manage to meet their dead loved ones, very briefly. Every experience is positive, with the dead ones urging the living to go on and mend their broken lives, smile again and meet them on the other side as late as possible.

Naturally, since the threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead is within a kitchen, various dishes are presented along with their specific recipes, which makes this an intriguing presentation. I think it is my first time encountering a secret recipe book in this format. Another interesting thing is the tradition of the remembrance meals as it is through them and the warm steam that the two participants can meet. This, as I learned, is based on a local Japanese tradition, which I found intriguing (now I want to read more about it).

The characters are nicely portrayed too and they serve as good reminders of showering those around you with kindness and love while you still have the chance. There is a student in particular who very much regrets his actions and immaturity and who teaches us to show love to those around us especially since we do not know their circumstances. What I wished, though, was for the little cat to have more impact. I feel like its presence was magical, but the exploration of its involvement could have been made in more detail.

Overall, I feel like the book teaches us kindness. Both towards ourselves and others. And it does so in a heartwarming and hopeful way. Through food and hearty conversations.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of The Chibineko Kitchen in exchange for an honest review.

Here goes my opinion, The Chibineko Kitchen started with a blast for me but I don't think it was retained until the end - just like a fire that is dwindling it's flame that's how I felt. I was reading the second story then I'm already done - a quick read. It kinda had the same vibe with before the coffee gets cold. Actually, I really had great expectations when I finished the first story but it didn't fulfill my expectations.

FAVE LINES:
* When people disappear, the world keeps on turning. Time doesn't stop.
* No matter how much you cared about someone, you always had to say goodbye in the end.
* It's alright to let it all out. Everyone needs a place where they can cry.

Such a sweet, touching and heart-warming, cosy book. Love these types of books now, they give me hope.

The premise is very similar to “before the coffee goes cold”.
The Chibineko kitchen offers people a place to speak to or even see their deceased loved ones while eating “kagazen” - remembrance meals. It also means “the food you offered up for someone who was away from home and the food you put out when mourning the dead.
The stories of visitors interweave.
The book felt stilted both in flow and writing, though I don’t know if that is the original or the English translation.
The short stories feel very surface level, while the book deals with the heavy topic of living on after losing a loved one or something important. The story feels too detached to get emotionally invested in the characters, even though they all deserve it.
Perhaps if I had read this before “before the coffee”, I would have felt differently. Overall it’s a very short book but not a particularly striking one. The concept is definitely interesting enough to create more short stories for.

The chibineko kitchen is such a heartwarming tale with beautiful food descriptions that just make your mouth water.

There are four stories in this book and each one is told with a lot of love and care for the characters, I pretty much cried with all of them.

The idea of revisiting a loved one is becoming more common in a lot of fiction as this one gave me "before the coffee gets cold" vibes, especially with the chibineko kitchen having a magic in the form of a cat, but this one was incredibly poignant and was written with a lot of sincerity for its tales.

I so wished I could try all the meals described and I loved the little addition of including the recipes so you can try them yourself.

This was a lovely, cosy read.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press for the e-arc in exchange for a free, honest review.

This genre is quickly becoming one of my favourites and The Chibineko Kitchen certainly didn’t disappoint!

A cosy little read with satisfying food descriptions and quirky characters, this short and sweet novel really pulled on the heart strings and if I had time, I could have read this in one sitting!

Fingers crossed for a sequel!

I love Japanese literature. I had a great time with this book. I really like the concept of being able to talk to someone you've lost, say something you really wanted to say, express your feelings, etc., so that it helps you process all the emotions and find a way to move on. The story of Yoshio and Setsu was my favorite, made me cry a little, but that made me love it even more.

Thank you so much John Murray Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

At the Chibineko Kitchen, you are able to see and speak to a passed loved one for one last time through the use of a meal…

I feel like I can picture everything that is happening in the book either the vivid descriptions. I do think that the pacing in middle was very slow as this is where I began to lose interest in the book and debated DNFing. I decided to continue as I was curious about how it will end and whether it would improve in terms of pacing. It unfortunately stayed the same but it is a short read so just because it hasn’t worked for me, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for somebody else. I do like how the book gives history behind certain things mentioned in the book, as I hadn’t heard of most of the things that were brought up so it was interesting to learn more about. I also like how it includes the recipes for the food that is being made, which is a nice attempt to make the reader more immersed into the story.

Whilst reading, I did notice a few similarities to the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, whilst also reminding me of the Kamogawa Food Detectives series with how food or drinks are used in order to talk to people who have passed away. I feel like if you love these two series like I do, it’s still worth checking out this book.

I feel like most of the characters lack the kind of depth that I would want for a story like this to make me invested fully in them and their stories. I found myself being indifferent towards them. There’s little character development and there’s characters I wanted to know more about like Kai. The characters come across as very one dimensional, which is a shame as they and the plot had a lot of potential. It just unfortunately didn’t work for me as much as I thought it would.

It also took me over 3 weeks to read this book, which is way too long for a book just over 200 pages. I do wish the mechanics of the being able to see dead people through a remembrance meal was discussed earlier on, to set out the scene of how this all was possible as it made it lack logic and left me feeling confused as to how it all worked, until to me, a somewhat weak explanation was provided.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray for the opportunity to read this book early, in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ CWs: death, car accident, grief, terminal illness; mentions mental health illness, suicidal ideation, animal death, infertility ⚠️

Such a cozy read before bed!!

I always have soft spot for Japanese Literature that include cat in its story. That's why I am so enthusiast to read this!!!

This book is combination between Funiculi Funicula series and Kamogawa Food Detective series. Could you imagine it? :D

I love how the author describe the food, it's so detailed and made me imagine how the taste is like! The interesting part, Author-san also give the recipes, so as non-Japanese who have interest in Japanese Cuisine, it adds my knowledge and references sooooo much.

This is just other "no plot just vibes" book, so I recommend you to read it slowly and feel the coziness inside it.

It's look like I'll buy the copy since it contains recipes that might useful for future.

Btw, I LOVE THE COVER SO MUCH! It just gave me charms everytime I see it. Can't wait to follow the series!

Such a charming and heartwarming book that I wanted to go on for longer. I loved the idea of the recipes for each chapter. Overall, I laughed, I smiled and I most definitely cried. Absolutely beautiful! Thank you to NetGalley, the amazing author Yuta Takahashi and publishers for the arc of the gorgeous book, The chibineko kitchen. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️