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Dinner at Mine
When Rosie decides to get her friends together for their very own version of Come Dine With Me she's bursting with excitement, even though her husband Stephen is less than keen. But Rosie is adamant. Four couples, each hosting a dinner party on a different night of the week, with a prize at the end for the best one. It'll be a good laugh, won't it? And a great way for everyone to get to know each other. What could possibly go wrong?What Rosie doesn't anticipate are the lengths her fellow hosts might be prepared to go to in order to claim the prize -- outlandish recipes, rare ingredients sourced from abroad, and a chocolate tart that looks just too good to be homemade… But perhaps she should be more worried about the mounting tension between the guests, as backbiting breaks out over the appetisers and a glass of wine too many leads to indiscreet flirtation. As the pressure in the kitchen rises, relationships begin to crack under strain, high-minded principles collide and the oven gloves come off… But that's all part of the fun. Isn't it?
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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77 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 25, 2014
This was much better than I thought it would be. It takes a typical rom-com/sit-com storyline, and populates with messy characters, and dollops of black humour that made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. This is a compelling & funny can't-look-away-from-the-car-crash story, that leaves much that is unsaid. Like life, it's full of uneasiness, and concludes on a messy, complicated note of discord.
December 29, 2021
What I can say is this book is full of food, drama and arguments between the characters. Dinner at Mine is about four couples; Sarah and Marcus, Barbara and Justin, Rosie and Stephen, Charlotte and Matt in the competition called "Dinner at Mine" where each couples took turns to cook for everyone every weekend. They then gave each other scores for the food and hospitality served by the hosts.
I like this book enough I think, but not enough to excite me. Each couples had their own issues and all of them always argue with each other during their preparation of the dinner (and sometimes, during dinner too!). That's why I said that this book is full with their arguments. Charlotte and Matt were not a couple though. They were set up by Rosie and had to work together in this competition. I don't really like the characters but the one I wanted to punch in the face the most is Marcus and Matt. OMG I just can't with this two.
Did I enjoy this book? Only 50/50. The food mentioned sounds okay, the storyline is okay too, but the characters and their arguments were too much even for me. I mean, apart from the food and their bickering, I cannot made out much what this book was about.
I like this book enough I think, but not enough to excite me. Each couples had their own issues and all of them always argue with each other during their preparation of the dinner (and sometimes, during dinner too!). That's why I said that this book is full with their arguments. Charlotte and Matt were not a couple though. They were set up by Rosie and had to work together in this competition. I don't really like the characters but the one I wanted to punch in the face the most is Marcus and Matt. OMG I just can't with this two.
Did I enjoy this book? Only 50/50. The food mentioned sounds okay, the storyline is okay too, but the characters and their arguments were too much even for me. I mean, apart from the food and their bickering, I cannot made out much what this book was about.
November 30, 2018
Very well written....loved the writing style ...quick read.... although felt the end was sort of incomplete and left to readers imagination..not a satisfactory end ...but over all entertaining.
January 5, 2020
It was a good weekend/beach read. It made me chuckle at times. The ending, however, was quite flat. I love how real and honest the characters were. Ive met all those people and I have enjoyed every second of it. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a qucik and easy read.
March 18, 2013
When I heard about Dinner At Mine by Chris Smyth, I was really excited to read the novel. I love Come Dine With Me – it’s one of my guilty pleasures, and I love books about food. Mostly because I love food, although my kind of food (as I mentioned in my The Secret Supper Club review) is more fish fingers than octopus. So when I was browsing on Amazon, Dinner At Mine finally found its way into my basket, and it was my first choice read as soon as it arrived, and I wasn’t disappointed in the novel at all.
If you didn’t already know, Dinner At Mine is a book version of Come Dine With Me, where four couples take it in turns to host a dinner party and where after each meal, each couple is marked out of ten for their efforts. It started as an innocent little game, but soon turns into a fully blown competition as each host tries to out-do the other. There’s Rosie and Stephen, Marcus and Sarah, Justin and Barbara and Matt and Charlotte, and as the weeks pass and the barbed comments fly, the tension becomes palpable and it’s not just the food being judged as the guests begin to attack each other about their principles and beliefs, and relationships start to crumble left, right and center.
I thought Dinner At Mine was a fascinating read. I loved the four couples and the arguing between them, veering between egging on Charlotte against Justin, and then feeling quite sorry for Justin when they all gang up on him a bit; wondering what was going to occur between Matt and Charlotte, if anything; and I was massively curious by the annoying enigma that was Marcus, hereby titled the most annoying person you could ever wish to invite to a dinner party. He criticised everything, and it set the tone for the novel, as the guests decided that the only way forward was to attack, attack, attack. It was great fun seeing the knives come out and the gloves come off, and it really was like reading a book version of Come Dine With Me, Smyth has parodied it perfectly.
The novel was just total and utter chaos, with each host thinking that their meal was better than everyone elses. I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with such up-themselves people as those in Dinner At Mine. They were all so egotistical, even Justin in a way, and you just can’t imagine people being like that in real life. At least, I hope not. I wouldn’t ever want to meet them, that’s for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, though. It was exactly what I’d asked for and it was just like Come Dine With Me. Smyth’s a fantastic writer, and he had me utterly absorbed in these characters, in their lives, in them, despite how horrific they seemed as people, which is a true talent, I think. I absolutely hope he’s working on a second novel, because he has a talent for writing parodies of fabulous shows and it would be interesting if his second novel followed in this vein (especially as the possibilities are endless with so many shows able to be parodied!), and I’ll be on the look out for it, that’s for certain, and all Come Dine With Me fans will adore Dinner At Mine. It’s fab.
If you didn’t already know, Dinner At Mine is a book version of Come Dine With Me, where four couples take it in turns to host a dinner party and where after each meal, each couple is marked out of ten for their efforts. It started as an innocent little game, but soon turns into a fully blown competition as each host tries to out-do the other. There’s Rosie and Stephen, Marcus and Sarah, Justin and Barbara and Matt and Charlotte, and as the weeks pass and the barbed comments fly, the tension becomes palpable and it’s not just the food being judged as the guests begin to attack each other about their principles and beliefs, and relationships start to crumble left, right and center.
I thought Dinner At Mine was a fascinating read. I loved the four couples and the arguing between them, veering between egging on Charlotte against Justin, and then feeling quite sorry for Justin when they all gang up on him a bit; wondering what was going to occur between Matt and Charlotte, if anything; and I was massively curious by the annoying enigma that was Marcus, hereby titled the most annoying person you could ever wish to invite to a dinner party. He criticised everything, and it set the tone for the novel, as the guests decided that the only way forward was to attack, attack, attack. It was great fun seeing the knives come out and the gloves come off, and it really was like reading a book version of Come Dine With Me, Smyth has parodied it perfectly.
The novel was just total and utter chaos, with each host thinking that their meal was better than everyone elses. I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with such up-themselves people as those in Dinner At Mine. They were all so egotistical, even Justin in a way, and you just can’t imagine people being like that in real life. At least, I hope not. I wouldn’t ever want to meet them, that’s for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, though. It was exactly what I’d asked for and it was just like Come Dine With Me. Smyth’s a fantastic writer, and he had me utterly absorbed in these characters, in their lives, in them, despite how horrific they seemed as people, which is a true talent, I think. I absolutely hope he’s working on a second novel, because he has a talent for writing parodies of fabulous shows and it would be interesting if his second novel followed in this vein (especially as the possibilities are endless with so many shows able to be parodied!), and I’ll be on the look out for it, that’s for certain, and all Come Dine With Me fans will adore Dinner At Mine. It’s fab.
April 11, 2016
This is basically a fictional spoof of Come Dine With Me, capturing all the worst (read 'best') aspects of the show, from food stresses to fighting guests to cheating and tantrums.
Rosie decides to invite three other couples to host a series of four dinner parties for which they will grade one another, just like on Come Dine With Me. The couples are: Rosie and husband Stephen; Rosie's friend from work Charlotte who she decides she will pair up with the only other singleton from their group of friends, Matt; Rosie's friend from yoga, Sarah, and her boyfriend Marcus; and Sarah's friend Barbara and her partner Justin.
All of the characters represent the typical Come Dine With Me contestants - Rosie's the one who tries too hard and is very judgemental, Stephen couldn't really care less, Charlotte's the foul-mouthed rebel who insults everything and everyone, Justin and Barbara are the Dreaded Veggies, Matt's the game player who regards the whole thing with barely-disguised amusement, and Marcus is the pretentious foodie. With that bunch, sparks are gonna fly, and boy, do they. There are culinary disasters involving missing yuzu juice, a shop-bought dessert and tough octopus. There's disagreements and fights between the rival couples as the competition heats up. There are domestics between the individual couples themselves which spill over into the dinner parties. There's hypocrisy (especially from Rosie), swearing (especially from Charlotte and Marcus), martyrdom and preaching (mostly Justin) and culinary 'masterpieces' that range from the terrible through the bland to the surprisingly successful.
I read this before, and the first time around, I hated Justin and liked Charlotte and Matt the most. This time around, I liked Charlotte and Justin best (even though they're so different and Justin can be awful ) and hated Rosie and Matt most. Despite their massive differences, Charlotte and Justin are probably the most honest and least pretentious of the lot, and though they're both judgemental, their judgements are mostly honest and fair. Rosie and Matt are the worst, fake and sneaky, the kind who seem nice at first but are quickly revealed to be horrible. Though Matt is worse than Rosie, who for all her obsessiveness and judgement, does have her redeeming points. Marcus is hilarious, he's the typical 'foodie' who can't actually cook very well. Sarah is pretty much a non-entity as as a character, she's such a drip, but is harmless, as is Barbara, who, like Stephen, isn't really bothered about any of it.
As for the cooking, I'm going to have to say Justin's meal was the yummiest sounding, even if he is a preachy veggie.
A lot of fun to read. I actually really liked the bit at the end where
Rosie decides to invite three other couples to host a series of four dinner parties for which they will grade one another, just like on Come Dine With Me. The couples are: Rosie and husband Stephen; Rosie's friend from work Charlotte who she decides she will pair up with the only other singleton from their group of friends, Matt; Rosie's friend from yoga, Sarah, and her boyfriend Marcus; and Sarah's friend Barbara and her partner Justin.
All of the characters represent the typical Come Dine With Me contestants - Rosie's the one who tries too hard and is very judgemental, Stephen couldn't really care less, Charlotte's the foul-mouthed rebel who insults everything and everyone, Justin and Barbara are the Dreaded Veggies, Matt's the game player who regards the whole thing with barely-disguised amusement, and Marcus is the pretentious foodie. With that bunch, sparks are gonna fly, and boy, do they. There are culinary disasters involving missing yuzu juice, a shop-bought dessert and tough octopus. There's disagreements and fights between the rival couples as the competition heats up. There are domestics between the individual couples themselves which spill over into the dinner parties. There's hypocrisy (especially from Rosie), swearing (especially from Charlotte and Marcus), martyrdom and preaching (mostly Justin) and culinary 'masterpieces' that range from the terrible through the bland to the surprisingly successful.
I read this before, and the first time around, I hated Justin and liked Charlotte and Matt the most. This time around, I liked Charlotte and Justin best (even though they're so different and Justin can be awful ) and hated Rosie and Matt most. Despite their massive differences, Charlotte and Justin are probably the most honest and least pretentious of the lot, and though they're both judgemental, their judgements are mostly honest and fair. Rosie and Matt are the worst, fake and sneaky, the kind who seem nice at first but are quickly revealed to be horrible. Though Matt is worse than Rosie, who for all her obsessiveness and judgement, does have her redeeming points. Marcus is hilarious, he's the typical 'foodie' who can't actually cook very well. Sarah is pretty much a non-entity as as a character, she's such a drip, but is harmless, as is Barbara, who, like Stephen, isn't really bothered about any of it.
As for the cooking, I'm going to have to say Justin's meal was the yummiest sounding, even if he is a preachy veggie.
A lot of fun to read. I actually really liked the bit at the end where
May 27, 2012
Oh my word, this was dreadful.
February 19, 2019
I did enjoy reading this book. Another easy and not complicated weekend read for rainy days!
May 26, 2019
Beach read. Caricatures
April 21, 2025
A good change from the usual rom com. Storyline is funny and style of writing can make you feel like you're also at the dinner table. 4 couples, but you'll surely have your favourite one. In my case, 3 couples are ok except for one. So it's 3/4 for me. Nice and light read.
April 29, 2019
Innovative, brilliant and hilarious!
I didn’t expect to like it this much.
I didn’t expect to like it this much.
February 20, 2021
Promising start to the story but then the conflicts between the different couples somehow got a tad tiresome to plough through.
August 26, 2023
From a writing point of view it deserved at least 4 stars. It was very cleverly and carefully written. But I gave it 1 because o expected a comedy. It was too cruel to be funny.
March 3, 2024
Brilliant book!! Characters were so believable and was just so funny, I’m not usually a comedy reader but you have to check it out, gets better as it goes on.
February 9, 2025
The premise is great, the execution is somewhat illogical but still entertaining
February 26, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Which is really saying something for a book with not a single likeable character.
May 23, 2012
Originally posted at Once Upon A Time.
Dinner at Mine is not my usual kind of book, to the point that I'm really not sure exactly how to categorise it. It isn't quite chick lit but neither is it contemporary (or maybe it is?). What it is is a look at the realities of modern life and what happens when you throw competitive friends with different ideas of how to behave in public together for a Come Dine With Me-esque sequence of dinner parties. I have quite a soft spot for Come Dine With Me, actually. I despise reality TV and cooking shows but this one in particular is such a car crash that you just have to watch it. Okay, perhaps not. It's the kind of show I watch when there's nothing else on but still, the premise of Dinner at Mine intrigued me. That blurb promises intrigue and many laughs.
My problem with it however is that I didn't really find it all that funny. The characters, every single one of them, are desperate in one way or another. Some to win the competition, some to have a better way of life, some just to keep things going as they are. But they're all desperate and that really overrode any sense of hilarity for me because there was so much pain and anger. As well as a couple of smug gits!
You know when you read other people's reviews and feel as though you have read a different book to everybody else? Dinner at Mine was one of those for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated I would as I didn't.. couldn't.. feel a connection to any of the characters. They weren't introduced very well in my honest opinion, nor were they described well enough to form any kind of picture in my head, and when they were explored a little more, their flaws were so prominently on display that in most cases I found them thoroughly unlikeable. However, it did pick up a little and it was a decent read it's just not quite the book for me.
I enjoyed Dinner at Mine as a character study of middle class couples in the London area and the ways in which they lead their lives. Tensions are high and the competition does not take the direction Rosie expected it to. Far from it.
Dinner at Mine is not my usual kind of book, to the point that I'm really not sure exactly how to categorise it. It isn't quite chick lit but neither is it contemporary (or maybe it is?). What it is is a look at the realities of modern life and what happens when you throw competitive friends with different ideas of how to behave in public together for a Come Dine With Me-esque sequence of dinner parties. I have quite a soft spot for Come Dine With Me, actually. I despise reality TV and cooking shows but this one in particular is such a car crash that you just have to watch it. Okay, perhaps not. It's the kind of show I watch when there's nothing else on but still, the premise of Dinner at Mine intrigued me. That blurb promises intrigue and many laughs.
My problem with it however is that I didn't really find it all that funny. The characters, every single one of them, are desperate in one way or another. Some to win the competition, some to have a better way of life, some just to keep things going as they are. But they're all desperate and that really overrode any sense of hilarity for me because there was so much pain and anger. As well as a couple of smug gits!
You know when you read other people's reviews and feel as though you have read a different book to everybody else? Dinner at Mine was one of those for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I anticipated I would as I didn't.. couldn't.. feel a connection to any of the characters. They weren't introduced very well in my honest opinion, nor were they described well enough to form any kind of picture in my head, and when they were explored a little more, their flaws were so prominently on display that in most cases I found them thoroughly unlikeable. However, it did pick up a little and it was a decent read it's just not quite the book for me.
I enjoyed Dinner at Mine as a character study of middle class couples in the London area and the ways in which they lead their lives. Tensions are high and the competition does not take the direction Rosie expected it to. Far from it.
July 3, 2012
The reader begins the round of dinner parties with Rosie and Stephen. While Rosie and Stephen are cooking, we get a brief look into what is happening with the other hosts. Right from the beginning, the cracks are beginning to show, not only under the tension of wanting to be the best but also the problems in their relationships.
The four dinner party hosts characters are stereotypical. Rosie and Stephen have a young son and are settled into early middle-age; Matt and Charlotte are both single with the type of selfishness that only comes from living alone; Justin and Barbara are vegetarians and protestors; Sarah and Marcus are the professional couple.
Narrated in the third person, this allows us to hear each characters thoughts as well as being present in their lives. It was interesting to see just how differently they perceived each other! I thought the author portrayed the characters brilliantly. We can all identify with the type of people they are and become emotionally involved with them.
As their stories being to emerge, the tensions and conflicts under the surface reach the light of day at each dinner. By the time the third dinner party was over, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen at the final dinner! What would be the outcome?
Dinner at Mine is a clever concept and well executed. For me, it wasn’t about the competition but about the depth of the characters and how something as simple as a dinner party can provoke such emotions and open eyes to reality! A debut novel, I’ve enjoyed everything about this book and will certainly be watching out for further novels from this author.
I would like to thank the publishers, Simon & Schuster UK for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The four dinner party hosts characters are stereotypical. Rosie and Stephen have a young son and are settled into early middle-age; Matt and Charlotte are both single with the type of selfishness that only comes from living alone; Justin and Barbara are vegetarians and protestors; Sarah and Marcus are the professional couple.
Narrated in the third person, this allows us to hear each characters thoughts as well as being present in their lives. It was interesting to see just how differently they perceived each other! I thought the author portrayed the characters brilliantly. We can all identify with the type of people they are and become emotionally involved with them.
As their stories being to emerge, the tensions and conflicts under the surface reach the light of day at each dinner. By the time the third dinner party was over, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen at the final dinner! What would be the outcome?
Dinner at Mine is a clever concept and well executed. For me, it wasn’t about the competition but about the depth of the characters and how something as simple as a dinner party can provoke such emotions and open eyes to reality! A debut novel, I’ve enjoyed everything about this book and will certainly be watching out for further novels from this author.
I would like to thank the publishers, Simon & Schuster UK for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2012
Three couples and two singles hold a Come Dine With Me-style competition. Every week, they dine at another house.
The first dinner party isn’t a great success and the others go from even worse to complete disasters. However, this is England, and one is polite. So, people ignore for the most part what’s going on and pretend everything is fine. As I lived in England for a long time, I so recognise this. And it’s so toe-curlingly awful. And therefore such fun to read about.
Marcus is very competitive and sees himself as the absolute best cook. He gives the others low marks so he has a better chance of winning. Charlotte isn’t all that happy that Rosie has found her someone to team up with, with the idea of a possible love-match. And she really likes a good argument. So, she’s ready to stir up things with Justin, part of the vegetarian couple, who is a passionate advocate for animal welfare.
There is more and more animosity within each couple, too. Will any of these relationships survive the competition, you wonder?
I’m sorry to say, other people’s misery is sometimes fun to read about. Especially the easy, understated way it’s written in Dinner at Mine. This book was a real pleasure to read.
The first dinner party isn’t a great success and the others go from even worse to complete disasters. However, this is England, and one is polite. So, people ignore for the most part what’s going on and pretend everything is fine. As I lived in England for a long time, I so recognise this. And it’s so toe-curlingly awful. And therefore such fun to read about.
Marcus is very competitive and sees himself as the absolute best cook. He gives the others low marks so he has a better chance of winning. Charlotte isn’t all that happy that Rosie has found her someone to team up with, with the idea of a possible love-match. And she really likes a good argument. So, she’s ready to stir up things with Justin, part of the vegetarian couple, who is a passionate advocate for animal welfare.
There is more and more animosity within each couple, too. Will any of these relationships survive the competition, you wonder?
I’m sorry to say, other people’s misery is sometimes fun to read about. Especially the easy, understated way it’s written in Dinner at Mine. This book was a real pleasure to read.
December 9, 2016
I can't remember how long it would have been since I've burst out laughing while reading a book, and I certainly wouldn't have expected it to happen due to a book like Dinner at Mine. The plot and setting didn't appeal to me at all, centred around 4 pairs competing in a series of ultra-competitive dinner parties based on a TV show which I am not familiar with, but this actually serves as the perfect medium for the main course of the book: the author's lively and diverse cast of characters. I won't include any spoilers, but these 8 strikingly different personas and their various opinions and problems are brilliantly presented to the reader in all their naked glory, as a result of forcing them to spend an absurd amount of time and effort on this essentially meaningless activity. The end result is a wonderfully witty book which is at times hilarious, other times frustratingly accurate and poignant, but certainly never boring.
July 19, 2012
I always thought the guy on come dine with me had sarcasm down to a fine art and made the program funny, but that guy has nothing on Chris Smyth. This book is hilarious from the start and gets better as it goes on. The characters are brilliant on their own but adding them up at a dinner party is pure genius...no one should miss this....will have you laughing out loud alot!!
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April 3, 2016I'm afraid to say I didn't enjoy this book at all ! I downloaded it thinking it would be quite funny but it wasn't at all ! I've never come across such self absorbed, smug, unlikeable characters in any book ! Maybe that's what the author was going for but I found it extremely hard going as I disliked every character !
June 28, 2013
I liked this, it was a nice easy read I finished in a few days. It's not laugh-out-loud, more the kind of book you smile wryly at, feeling quite smug that you are (hopefully) not like any of the characters in it.
April 29, 2012
I really enjoyed this book it was really funny, very easy to read and follow definetely recommend.
April 21, 2012
Love come dine with me and loved this book! Funny and very hard to out down! Worth the 5 stars!
May 26, 2012
I did enjoy it but felt far more could have made of the characters - did feel they were all a bit stereotypical - the Come Dine with me bit was underplayed as well
July 29, 2012
very funny
August 29, 2012
This was an enjoyable enough read and i found the characters interesting, but I just didn't feel like a lot actually HAPPENED in the book. Although some of the meals sounded delicious...
October 17, 2012
Not a bad book, not a great book. Kept me reading though so I must have enjoyed it on some level!
September 4, 2013
There was no depth of character, very little description of setting and the overall story line was nothing special.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews