Meal by Blue Delliquanti, Soleil Ho

Meal by Blue Delliquanti, Soleil Ho

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Letter Better Publishing Services through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yarrow is a young and passionate chef who wants to bring her love for insect-based food into people’s lives. Excited about a new insect-based restaurant’s opening, Yarrow is determined to land herself a job there. However, things take an unexpected turn when she irritates the owner, Chandra, rather than wowing her. Issued with a challenge that will make or break her chances at the restaurant, Yarrow takes a step back and remembers that she’s not trying to get Chandra to look past the bugs and give the food a try like she does with most people.

I saw this graphic novel and thought it sounded cute and interesting, so I knew I had to read it. Yarrow is a sweet woman who just wants to bring her passion for insects and their role in the culinary world to people who would normally turn their nose up at the idea. Along the way, we learn about how she began raising her own insects and cooking them as well as the cultural ties that insects in the culinary world has. I thought it was quite interesting, especially as someone who would normally turn my nose up to knowingly eating insects. I’m not sure that I would run out and try something right now, but it has opened my eyes to the idea that it might be something I’m willing to give a try at some point in the future.

I loved the characters that we meet and how we learn why they want to bring insect-based food to American culture as the story continues. It’s also fun because Yarrow makes a friend, Milani, at the beginning of the story and we watch her try Yarrow’s food and really get into eating food that she herself would normally have turned her nose up to. Plus, their friendship slowly turns into romance and we watch Milani blossom in her own world as an artist.

At the end of the story, the book continues and we learn more about insects and how people view various foods as good or gross depending on the culture. There’s also some recipes and tips on dipping your toes into raising and cooking insects yourself. There are also character sketches at the very end, which I loved looking at because I loved the style and I love seeing artist’s sketches.