Saw the description of a cooking competition in space, and had to pick it up. The cooking competition is actually a very small part of the book, which focuses more on politics and xenophobia. This book has a lot of interesting ideas, but there’s so much going on it’s never delved into as much as it could be. Strongest when it follows Saras searching for a fair shake in an unfair society.

Reality TV is great basis for creating science fiction satire. Doctor Who has done this a number of times and recently Catherynne Valente took on the Eurovision Song Contest in Space Opera. So why not cooking shows? Lavanya Lakshminarayan's Interstellar MegaChef promises exectly that. Unfortunately this is the click bait version of science fiction. The cooking show element is a small part of a narrative that involves an interstellar human empire, racism against people from Earth, aliens that look weird but act remarkably like humans and very little that is actually satirical or insightful. None of this is helped by extremely clunky and laboured exposition and unlikeable characters.

This was a laugh out loud funny read. If you love space and cooking, or even just cooking shows, this is for you! I devoured this novel. I loved the characters and the trials they faced. So good! Plus, I loved the LGBTQIA+ inclusion! I loved Serenity's and Saraswati's evolving relationship to each other and themselves over the course of the novel while they are trying their best. Great book!

Interstellar MegaChef explores how xenophobia and imperialism presents itself and functions as a tool of an empire, country or state through controlling media, technology and pop culture in a fascinating way. I appreciated the themes and discussions so much so that I wanted MORE, more discussions and takes. A lot was implied and it leaned on the reader to think for themselves, in a way that didn’t feel encouraged.

I spent many weeks reading this 400 page book, and a lot of it felt slow. The length could have been a great opportunity to develop the characters further, especially the romance. It all happened so slowly, and then all of a sudden towards the end. Much of it felt like it juuuuuust lacked in almost every single facet, and could have gotten there, but it just didn’t quite land for me.

A lot of it centers around food and the culture around food. A topic that doesn’t immediately interest me. I did, however, enjoy the innovative way Lakshminarayan imagined food to be on a future human colonized planet. As well as the complexity of the culture around that. Much of the book was actually quite nuanced. I didn't hate the characters, but I didn't love them either. It felt as if the book should give itself more credit for delving into the in-between places. A place that doesn't always work well with the reading experience encouraged by this specific story, leaning towards satire.

Many plot points were left unwrapped by the end, and it is clear there are sequels planed. I might just be interested enough to pick them up, only time will tell. Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favourite cues to pick up a book is food, but alas, there are very few which come with a mix of fiction, so when I came across the book I had to pick it up.

This book took me by surprise. Unlike what the blurb suggests, this is not a plot which flows into food competition right and center, for a character to prove herself. There is so much more, a lot of thought has been put into world building, intuitive layers of each character and food mixed into a sci-fi plot, transporting us to the future right alongside Saraswati Kaveri as she lands on Primus, a planet developed completely against Earth.

To be honest at the beginning, everything felt way different and edgy due to the disjointed writing style, that I did struggle to connect with the world building, but then as I went into the flow of the narrative, the plot grips with the characters tightly, that you are all along for the ride.

Saraswati and Serenity were flawed, insecure but real characters. Parts of them felt like home, that I had to keep reading, as I was curious where the journey was traversing across. Their characters hit their growth arc beautifully, despite the challenges they were going through.

Coming to the food, that angle too, took a completely unexpected route. I was really happy when Saraswati just went with the flow to cook away bajji's, vadas and fish to showcase Earth's flavours.

This was definitely a book which gave a lot of food for thought. I am very curious about the next part in the book series.

Book Recommendation - For Scifi Lovers and for anyone who wants to try something new *wink*.

Sara has finally made it off her planet and gets her dream to compete on the reality cooking show Interstellar MegaChef. However, this world is not what she thought it was.

I loved the premise of this, but was disappointed by the read, The writing was ok; I know some people wrote that it felt more plain in their reviews but at least early on it felt contrived - like unnecessary descriptions on things that did not need descriptions. I also had trouble because the things that needed those descriptions, like this alien world, did not have the detail I needed for me to be able to picture it. I did like the messages about the colonization of food, but it wasn't enough to overcome my struggle to read this one.

I really ,enjoyed the story, adventure and characters, but at some times I felt like I didn't know what I was reading. I was going for Masterchef in space but I was given some kind of The Expanse, which is good, but not what I was expecting. I can't help but be a tid bit disappointed as I really really wanted to read Masterchef in space. ^^' Most of the story tells everything around it , but not so much within it. And I must admit I struggled to like one of the two main characters. She wasn't just blunt, she really did not care about people around her, which is kind of handicap when they're suppose to be bonding. Still, I love the grandma. She's fierce. ;)

Interstellar MegaChef is a sci-fi novel that combines a space-version of Masterchef and troubles between species/planetary communities. It's the first book in a duology following a woman on the run from her troubled past and a planet obsessed with its cultural superiority. 

What else can you expect?
🍩 Cute robot sidekick (my highlight of the book!)
🍩 Food as culture
🍩 Sapphic romance
🍩 Reluctant allies to....more?
🍩 The diaspora experience
🍩 Multiple POVs

While I went in expecting a lighthearted read focused on a cooking show, that wasn't quite what I encountered. The author created a really interesting society, with so many layers built in to represent the diaspora experience and the tensions between planetary communities, quite clearly mirroring issues in our own world. The cooking show plot is interwoven into this situation and at times takes a back seat, while it is at the forefront at other times. I feel like the marketing for this doesn't quite hit right? I found the plot and setting very interesting, but it was a lot more politically heavy than I expected from the marketing so I was taken by surprise (probably also because I was really after a light read at the weekend) 😅

The characters are well developed and multi-dimensional, really bringing the story to life. The romance is quite slow burn, but very believable in the way in the developed! Saras is an incredible-sounding chef, and I was blown away by how expressively and tangibly her lobe for food comes across. The author did a brilliant job making her passion shine through each and every page!

However, there's a couple of things I struggled with. I understand this is part of a duology, but I feel like so many topics were touched on and then moved on from... and left loose. I kept expecting the plot to pick up in a certain direction (which was very heavily hinted at!), but then that all seemed to get forgotten for the last quarter of the book? Maybe it's just me, though.

Thank you to the publisher and Colored Pages Book Tours for the review copy.

This had such a great premise and I was super excited to read it considering it was supposed to be bake off in space. However I was quite disappointed by it, due to the fact that the actual competition was barely there at all. The second MC was extremely spoiled and out of touch as well so all her chapters where unbearable to read. I’m so sad I didn’t love this, but thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

In an effort to break free from her abusive parents, Saraswati joins the galaxy wide show Interstellar Megachef. Things get complicated when she gets swept up in a programmer’s dream of simulated food.

I really wanted to like this lore, but it really shouldn’t have been marketed as Masterchef in space. The parts of the book that are actual cooking show related takes place over less than 10% of the whole story.

There are some interesting discussions of the ethics of simulation of something necessary to life & manipulating the brain. And there’s some discussion over what food means, through the process of making and sharing, food with community, food passed down that I was fascinated by. But this story also has a lot of intense political intrigue, a totally implausible romance (for me), and talk of cultural supremacy and the hypocrisy of a culture preaching acceptance and diversity while all the while making sure their culture is most prominent. This story just tried to do too much.

And with constant flipping between a variety of characters, switching between first and third person narration, and with the Primian culture having a naming convention where every character had a first name that was one of nine, I just kept getting confused and having to backtrack.

Thanks to both NetGalley and Rebellion for this arc.

There are so many interesting ideas in Interstellar MegaChef. Glance at the cover and read the blurb, and you may think this will be a cosy SF story about a woman in an intergalactic version of the Great British Bake Off. There's certainly a (small) element of that, but it's not the whole story, which I think may frustrate some readers.

Lakshminarayan has created a complex, living breathing world. Saras is our main character, a refugee from the looked-down-upon Earth, who wants to impress at the cookery competition. Another significant character is Serenity Ko, an overachiever virtual sim creator who is desperate to make her mark, and doesn't care much if she makes friends along the way. She ends up eager to create a food sim - but who can teach her to cook?

This book is as much about interplanetary politics as cooking - who has control over what, which culture is better, what rules do you need to navigate society, etc. It's interesting, but it's darker and more complex than the book's marketing suggests. The main characters (especially Ko) aren't always sympathetic. It is also part of a series and to my mind the most pressing questions are not fully answered within this title. Which is fine if you're on board and want to buy the next one. But less fine if you're not sure!

I did enjoy the ethical question (another one not answered in this book) of whether or not it's a good thing to promote a food experience that could put cooks out of business. It's a bit like whether we should use AI art (because it's easy) when it's putting artists out of business (ie probably not) - so it feels very relevant, even if it is set in a far off future. I'd read this author again, but must admit to enjoying her previous book more.

Really loved this one, especially the exploration of food and the multitudes of ways it can affect not just individuals, but societies and cultures as a whole.

Detailed review to come.

Ratatouille meets the Bear meets Masterchef in an Indian cuisine inspired futuristic cooking saga

The moment I chanced upon the blurb of this book on NetGalley, I wanted to read it and thanks to the author and the awesome folks at NetGalley, I got an ARC of this book. Interstellar Megachef is like a veritable wholesome serving of rasam rice but the slightly spicy kind – underneath the immediate warmth and coziness of the rasam, there are layers of spice and tanginess that make this book far more nuanced, thoughtful, and poignant than you would expect


On the surface, Interstellar Megachef is about an intergalactic cooking competition featuring an underdog, Saraswati Kaveri from Earth traveling to Uru, now the political, cultural, and gastronomical centre of the universe. Earth is now considered a backward planet that cooks with open flame whereas the prevailing gastronomical culture leans towards infusions and “flowmetal”. The other PoV is that of a Serenity Ko, a sim creator of experiences, leading a messy chaotic, and debauched existence, who hones in on food for her next sim venture following a rude shock at her workplace. Circumstances bring our leads together even as the titular Megachef contest unfolds

Anton Reaction - Ratatouille

There is this fabulous sequence in the movie Ratatouille (Spoilers for the movie obviously – duh), wherein the jaded food critic picks at his food with apparent disinterest only to be so moved by the taste of the food that he is transported to his childhood and the emotions that it evokes. To a great extent, that’s what this book is all about – the emotions and feelings connected with food. Food is a universal language and while everyone’s experiences and emotions are different, the underlying theme of food being a uniter fuels this book.

“Flavor. Texture. Visual. That’s all you need to make a meal an experience”

That said this is a layered book and the author uses food as an allegory to bring about some fascinating commentary. The author remarks on how food is often used as a soft power of conquest – a dominant civilization often finds ways to impose their food as part of the cultural domination to suppress and mark their superiority. The author also tries to draw attention to the pretentiousness related to food – the heart (and the stomach) wants what it wants. A person can enjoy a full Andhra meal (ala Nagarjuna) as much as they can savor a 9-course fine dine degustation. That shouldn’t be a forum to justify what is better and more civilized – the book put this point across rather well. Finally, there is the AI element that the book wants to really expand about but saves ammo for the next book. AI is entrenching its roots everywhere and food is no exception. But Food has a personal human element to it that AI cannot fully replace or explain. In this age where AI in writing specifically genre writing is a ticking time bomb, the author’s commentary on foods might as well extend to books and writing

“Human history teaches us that humans pick convenience over commitment every single time”

The central mystery and journey that drives Saraswati Kaveri is one of the key elements of the book and there is just enough in it that keeps you engaged even as the story proceeds. I do think some of the elements of her journey and the mechanics were kind of hand-wavy but she remains an entirely compelling character with enough of a mystery that you are invested in her journey. Serenity Ko on the other hand starts as a character that one wouldn’t like, almost deliberately so. She is rather unpleasant and self-centered to say the least but the author teases out elements of Ko’s personality and her family to make you accept her as the co-lead of this book

“All cooking came down to combining flavors in different proportions, to creating visually rich, stimulating, texturally complete edible experiences”

For a book titled Interstellar Megachef, the focus on the actual competition itself is rather muted and limited – which was a bit of a disappointment. Instead, we spend a fair amount of time in what is possibly a crash course in app development and product management. Also, I did feel some of the food-related impact kind of rushed and not delivering the full experience. There is also the third PoV that we see that comes across as a bit ominous but has a very limited role to play in this book – it however does expound a bit on how civilizations try to reign supreme. The more things change, the more some people want it to remain the same.

Finally, on a personal note, I loved the concept of Indian culture specifically the cuisine element in a SF setting. It’s pretty rare to come across these and I love how the author has woven it as a key theme of the story. It elevated my experience of reading this book making it wholesome. To make it even more special, the book is also kind of South Indian to an extent – the sprinkling of Tam words added a wonderful garnish to this dish of a book. KB Wager’s the Indranan War series featuring an Indian culture and gods-inspired matriarchical society in space was one of the books that I can recommend to get more of these kinds in the SFF genre – the book featured female warriors comfortably wielding weapons dressed in saris while invoking Ganesha for starters.

Fun, thoughtful, poignant, and questioning, Interstellar Megachef is an Indian-cuisine & culture-based space novel that revels in subverting your expectations of what the book is all about while serving a grand story that sets itself up for interesting things ahead. Come for the cooking contest, stay for the app development and the role of AI in our precious labor of love activities.

Rating – 4 Medu Vadais on 5

An absolute treat that melted in the mouth and left me hungry for more. A biting satire of the gulf between professed and lived values, with all the galaxy-sweeping politics you could want from a space opera, combined with a slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance. I loved my time with Saras and Serenity, and am looking forward to the next installment!

Listen, listen! I have perhaps read three sci-fi novels in all of my life (and I think it was all the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, because of my boyfriend) and it has never been my genre. However, something propelled me hard and fast towards "Interstellar MegaChef" and I was ecstatic when I got accepted.
Was it the huge doughnut on the cover? Perhaps! Was it the intriguing female centricity of it, and how it was queer? Perhaps! No matter the reason, I got it and immersed myself in this strange and complex world.

The novel is told in different perspectives, which allows us readers to gather more information about the new planet our protagonist is on. While everybody's chapters are told through third person, we connect with our heroine Saraswati in first person. We get deeper into her impressions of the world, and her feelings about everything.
Saras is on Primus after fleeing her home country of Earth - which in this universe, it is the most primitive and war-ridden world - to prove herself as an interstellar chef on the most-watched program in the galaxy. She's expecting it to be tough, with all the changes and a new language, and not knowing anybody. However, she's also expecting friendliness and equal treatment, after all, Primus is too advanced to be xenophobic right?
Wrong. If you thought you were in for a simple sci-fi novel about intergalactic food, and some sapphic tension, think again!

"Interstellar Megachef" is a layered story that examines how food is and probably always will be political. It explores the politics of the planet Primus - I believe the political plot will be more relevant in the next installment - and its cultural imperialistic views, which are subtle.
This debut novel is a testament to friendship that knows no race, as Saras is lucky to attract beings from all planets that truly like her, support her and come to love her.
One of our other perspectives, a very valuable one, is that of Serenity Ko. She's the granddaughter of the most famous chef in the galaxy, a prodigy of the Primus world thanks to her talents as a "creator of experiences" (it's hard to explain out of context). Serenity goes through an enormous amount of change throughout this novel, and one thing that excites me about a sequel is to see where the auhtor brings this character.

In case it was not clear, I really enjoyed this novel. Sometimes it was a bit confusing for a little sci-fi newbie like myself, but it didn't really detract from the wonderfully engaging, and lovely written story. I am really looking forward to the sequel.

The premise of this book sounded so interesting. I love the Great British Bake Off and other cooking shows. And I love the idea of non-white characters being the main characters of the story. But I just struggled to get through it. The sci-fi aspect of it was jus too much. As someone who doesn't really read sci-fi, I just found the sci=fi aspects of it too intimidating to the point where I didn't enjoy reading it.
This could be a great read for someone who already is a big sci-fi fan.

I'm going to go straight in and say, I didn't love this book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It was sold to me as "Megachef in space" so I expect that to be the main setting, however I felt that the show aspect of the story was secondary, maybe even tertiary to the rest.

The writing style was tricky, sometimes I breezed through it with ease and others I was rereading entire paragraphs trying to work out exactly what had been said. I think that it mostly correlated to which character was in control of the chapter, this was often really jarring to me and took way from my enjoyment of the story.

The blurb told us this was a "fun and satirical, thought provoking novel" which for me, personally, was partially true. It was definitely satirical and political and I think would 100% be loved by people who enjoy the complex nuances in novels like this but when I see "fun and satirical" I expect easy, funny and sarcastic, poking fun and dry wit (which I love) this just left me often confused. The names of the characters didn't help this either, with 90% of the characters being named after one of the 9 principles, meaning they had very similar names. I had no idea who was who for half of the book. My favourite character from the whole book was Kili, both the angel and devil on Saraswatis shoulder, he provided the dry wit and lovable rogue I was expecting.

Having said all that I did enjoy elements of the novel and I'm definitely intrigued to see where the next book takes this plot. What I do love is that I can see that this story still has a long way to go, that there is still so many ways this story can be developed and directions it can take and I would definitely read the next book to see how it all plays out.

My thanks to Rebellion for the early access to this book.

This is a much more complex book than I expected going in which isn't bad but wasn't for me. I was overwhelmed with the world building and a lot had very little to do wih the story itself. The food stuff was inventive and interesting though.

Wow. I tried. This is why I don't read blurbs, bc if I hadn't, I might have actually enjoyed this one. But I did read the blurb, and that was the book I wanted to read.

Too many characters that all have very similar names (after one of the "nine virtues") made it very hard to follow who was doing what. And I'm not one to put something down bc I don't like the characters, but I didn't actually care about any of them OR what they were actually doing.

If you're going into this thinking it's going to be about a cooking competition in space, skip it.

I think that the marketing got this book to just the wrong people - I was expecting more of a cozy food eccentric cooking competition in space, and while yes that is happening isn't really the headline or main part of this book. It's more of a sci-fi political book which I think is a different set of readers with different preferences. The many POVs and info-dumping was also set up that made this difficult for me to get into, I felt lost or overwhelmed more often than I prefer. In the right hands I think that this book will have readers fall into it, but the set-up felt misleading.