La solution à deux plaques: Un roman de chaos culinaire au Moyen-Orient

by Jeff Oliver

A James Beard Award-winning chef stands atop a 50-foot-high diving platform having just plated a competition-winning culinary masterpiece. He looks down, faints from fear of heights, and careens into the water below. Worst of all? He knocks over his dish on the way down. So begins The Two-Plate Solution , and it only gets better from there. Follow a diverse cast of young talented chefs as they compete in a high-stakes TV cooking competition set in Israel. Their culinary fake “terrorists” brought in by the producers―that is, until some actual terrorists show up on set, and the producers must scramble to either integrate them into the show, or risk death. Mysteries deepen, romances bloom, and chefs cook for their lives in this laugh-out-loud culinary adventure from Jeff Oliver, a major force in TV cooking shows the past fifteen years. His talented pen will have you caring about each character . . . and wondering how the many unforeseeable story twists will turn out. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {"Table Normal"; ""; 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; %; "Calibri","sans-serif"; }

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2023

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, let me disclose that "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Okay, so I really tried to like this book. I really did. And there were a few times that I almost thought that I was going to like it. And then I just couldn't.

Here are some of the things that really bugged me:

- Poor grammar and word usage. This started early on when I heard the (non)word "supposingly" instead of "supposedly". There followed other instances that just grated. Sometimes I could write it off as a character that was supposed to be "intellectually challenged" or something, but not always.

- This is really just taste and preference, but I'm really not one for reality TV shows that only exist because of the can't-look-away drama they build in, so I guess it's no wonder that all of the overdone drama just made me roll my eyes, even though the point was to poke fun.

- The plot was really weak. I feel like 5 years ago and/or 5 years from now, this would be so culturally irrelevant that people would have a hard time getting it.

I felt like the narrator did a pretty good job with what she was given. The few times I was actually amused had more to do with her interpretation of a situation or a conversation than the words themselves.

Obviously, there may be people out there that love this book. It may be someone's favorite book. And maybe it might have even been more enjoyable had I been in a different mood. But just not my cup of tea.

[Benji · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise itself is rather out there and off the wall. However it is well balanced due to the fact that the setting is a reality tv show set. The story from the first page has the readers going along for the ride since they know reality tv isn't always what it seems to be. There's always ulterior motives to such things and the book highlights that perfectly. It's very clear the book is coming from an honest and real perspective by the author who no doubt drew on his real life experiences as apart of the reality tv industry. The characters are also well balanced too. At first glance it may seem like there are too many but the author manages to balance it out by having them group together in subplots and storylines that are distinct from each other and thus easy to follow. Even if the reader can't remember all the character's names they will also know which situation is which based on the differences between them all. I also wouldn't be surprised if the author had some background with judaism or jewish culture since it's a very genuine sprinkling of yiddish words and jewish food. The balance between tension and humor is also very strong. Overall I'd say it is a compelling and fun rollercoaster ride just waiting to be picked up and read.

[Melanie Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book, having spent many years living in Israel and working with chefs in a professional kitchen. I was sorely disappointed. I just didn't get it. The story was convoluted with far too many people. Maybe the US and UK sense of humour is completely different. It wasn't funny, I didn't even smile. Additionally, there were basic errors in the Hebrew, (a girl is a 'metoomtemet', thank you is 'toda'), and that kind of mistake makes my blood boil. Not hard to check. I think the narrator, Rebecca Hansen, did a top class job, considering the sheer number of voices and accents she was expected to perform, but it's very hard to pull off an Israeli speaking English accent and an Israeli-Arab speaking English accent and make them sound different, alongside all the other speaking she had to do. This task was too much for just one narrator, and Ms Hansen must be applauded for her monumental efforts. I don't think I've ever said this about a book before, but really, not worth your time. Sorry

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story about a television cooking competition and the people who make it. It is set in Israel. It involves Arab terrorists. There is abundant sex, between a variety of genders. The use of foul words (in three languages!) may be defended as part of the reality. The intent was to write a comedic novel but the result is not as funny as the author thinks it is. The plot has more twists than a Knusperstangen. The humour is sophomoric, but is bound to entertain male high school students. It is a parody of reality television competition cooking programmes or possibly, as some have suggested that Catch 22 is a documentary of WWII and M*A*S*H is a documentary of the Korean War, it tells the whole truth which can only be printed if it is disguised as fiction. The author would know because he produced "Cupcake Wars," Worst Cooks in America" and "Next Food Network Star" for the Food Network. This is not a great book; if it is made into a theatrical motion picture, I won't go.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, or Cut Throat Kitchen: You will enjoy this audiobook. With big personalities and even bigger ambitions a crew of culinary contestants must battle each other and some very unexpected guests to win it all. It kept me on my toes the whole time, not knowing what twist would be thrown at the contestants next. My only qualm was the narration. I listened to the sample and thought I could handle it, but after so many hours the narration can become a little grating. Listen to the sample before deciding to buy the audio copy. The story and characters are fantastic. It's a great beach listen. Although, people may look at you funny for laughing out loud, it's worth it. I received this book in return for my unbiased review.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m tempted to start this review with a recipe: take one helping of a reality show, add a cup of a cooking competition and combine the results with fake terrorists and then real terrorists, before sauteing the mixture with several mysterious characters. The result is an unusual novel that’s part mystery and part farce. Jeff Oliver, the author of “The Two-Plate Solution” (Bancroft Press), accurately calls his work “a novel of culinary mayhem in the Middle East.”
To see the rest of my review, visit http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...

[Victoria Haugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story, all sorts of stuff going on! I thought it was a nice story and an interesting idea, and I thought the narration was great, she did an amazing job. All in all a good listen, it has highs and lows, but overall I definitely enjoyed it :) I love Hells Kitchen and Master Chef, so it was a fun read :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Merilee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really unpleasant. I gave it two stars because of two laughs and one surprise at the end. When I saw the author had developed my least liked Food Network show, Cutthroat Kitchen, I was not surprised. I’m a foodie and didn’t like it. My husband and son both tried but couldn’t finish it. Much less funny than I had hoped.

[Michael Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a truly goofy satire, with a very serious underlying theme, and I was never quite sure where it was going. I enjoyed it well-enough, but...

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wtf?

[Audry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forced myself to read to page 3. Couldn't get any farther. High school locker room humor- the swearing, jokes, nonsense. Discarded.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have realized that if I don't like "reality" TV, I'm not going to like a book parodying same.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insane premise. hard to get past it

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tasty and thoroughly satisfying one-pot dish of book features all the flavors at once - spicy, salty, fruity, tart, sweet, pungent, and more than a little funky - and jerks readers back and forth between intermittently light-hearted and piercing satire about the state of reality TV (and the world that cooks it up and keeps devouring it), the state of the Middle East conflict, and the power of cooking, food, and togetherness against all odds. A well-crafted concoction of skillful storytelling (buckle up for a wild ride in every direction at once), "The Two-Plate Solution" somehow manages to gather up its countless plot twists in a digestible bundle in the end - with a delightfully weird aftertaste. The colorful cast of characters features opportunistic food critics and cowboy cheftestants, IDF-fighter-turned-TV producers and fake, supected, and possibly real terrorists - not to forget the Halva Queen of Eilad and a victim of Israeli occupation who turns cooking into an art of healing, even if the career-hungry network executive may make him blow up his dishes in the end. We never do find out what the halva with smelly ingredients tastes like but it's easy to believe that it's divine.

[Rachel]

Listened to the first 3 chapters and it wasn't my cup of tea. Very satirical, far-fetched, over-the-top, crude and crass but I'm sure some readers/listeners would find it humorous and entertaining.