His Missing Ingredient

by Jessa Kane

Chef Draven is known as a tyrant in the kitchen, but when the new dishwasher arrives, he finds himself spellbound by Claire's beauty. She's young, brave, in need of a guardian...and obviously running from something. At first touch, he's vowing to protect her from all harm and proclaiming himself as her man. She's his now. But there's something different about his girl. Her very presence, and a unique spice all her own, cause his cooking to improve to the point of inciting riots outside the restaurant. Could she be the missing ingredient he's been looking for all his life?

Genres: Novella, Romance, Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Spicy, Smut, Workplace

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2026

About the author

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Romance Author aka Your New Favorite Peddler of Naughtiness.

Reviews

[Brittany (Brit.tea.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely one of those books where you listen and don’t judge lmao 😂

[Soft Nectarine ~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now sir, that’s just a HEALTH CODE VIOLATION! This one just takes it too far even for me 👀

Chef Draven discovers his new dishwasher girlie has MAGICAL juices…and decides to mix it into a new sauce for his restaurant! Good lord, please no. Just no. 😩😩

The novella was classic JK smut: clueless fmc, huge grumpy mmc, insta love. However, I just couldn’t get passed them mixing her FLUIDS into the sauce for public consumption *screaming into the void* And the SAUCE MADE THEM ALL HORNY?! lol that was low-key hilarious but also what the hellie

workplace romance
possessive mmc
age gap 32m 18f
virgin fmc
chocking
daddy/lg kink
public sex
insta love
health code violations
HEA

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this the most ridiculous Jessa Kane? Of course not, she's got a time travelling tree story but this one is certainly up there. At least with a couple of health code violations but fuck me is it HOT. Carousel bang will always have my heart.

[ᯓ☆ Cherryyy ᯓ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tomarlo con humor es la única solución para evitar el trauma

[girlwithhearteyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

Errrrrmmmm, too many food safety violations for me to properly enjoy this one. I did feel strongly while reading though, and I feel like Jessa Kane wrote this one for the reactions. 🤣

[PeaceOfGod · Rating 2 out of 5]

See, THIS is why you should never eat at restraunts. They be dippin' puh-juice in desserts. 😭😭

This isint a bad book, but the SEVERE health-code violations were a turn off.

[Yesenia Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

unhinged queen

what a insane, wild ride that was. couldn’t have predicted the next sentence. made no sense and is ABSOLUTELY a health code violation. 5 stars 😂

[Kellyythoralabatalla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quedé tiesa con toda esa vaina de ella siendo el toque secreto para la comida 🫠 y me hizo pensar en que uno va a un restaurante y no sabe que le pueden echar a la comida.

Pero no me sorprende porque Jessa Kane, solo me reí y ya.

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

“His secret ingredient” is the story of Claire and Draven.

This somewhat magical, health code violation filled smutty novella is a romance between a runaway girl and a chef who gets obsessed with her and her.. fluids.

Silly but enjoyed it

Safe
3/5

[Lolina ⋆]

This was quite literally a health inspector's worst nightmare 😭😭. Cheers to...secret sauces....I guess...

[Emm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody say ANYTHING to the health department.

[Amy Bergesen]

Jessa strikes again! All the usuals: novella length, age gap, insta-love, virginity, tiny FMC and huge MMC, and… a hint of magic.

Head chef Draven meets his new dishwasher, Claire, on her first day working in his restaurant. Her body is his inspiration and more.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
HEA

[Daisy Winter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh. No thanks. The villain was too creepy. Too much violence against women - kidnapping and murder. And the bodily fluids in restaurant food? Hard pass.

[nicklein · Rating 2 out of 5]

what the hell did i just read?! i’m—

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading the title and the blurb, you'd think Aw, it's a pun...He's a chef and she's what's missing from his life, cute! .
But I forget its Jessa Kane. And she's unhinged.
The FMC is quite literally the "missing ingredient" he needs to put in his food.
Stirring with a spoon she licked is one thing. But he takes it further and puts her juices in food that gets served to the public.
Can you say HEALTH CODE VIOLATION!

[Megan Jabbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

it’s just too weird for me

I dnf’d this at 60%.. normally I’m a lover of anything by Jessa Kane but this one is just odd. When they walk into the restaurant and start talking about orgys I put it down. Sorry. Just not for me!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would’ve enjoyed it if not for the whole sauce thing. It kept taking me out of the story.

[Jetscarbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy body fluids. 🤢 eww (possible spoilers ahead)

I never take JK’s books seriously. They are what they are. Short, smutty, InstaLove books.
Sometimes I just like nonsense. (I have her one book Moby downloaded. One day I’ll read it. It’s about a woman boinking a whale 🙃)

This book was just too much. The “secret ingredient” ended up being the heroine’s body fluids. I kind of wanted to laugh, but I was actually horrified.

Eek 😱

[Matt Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 🏆🥇 winner

For every reason you read Jessa Kane's books you need to continue with this one. It almost shocks me how much story she crams into such short, great reads. Great every time. She manages to blend sweet and sexy unlike just about any author I've read. And I've read 10,000 books in the past 25 years.

[aki · Rating 4 out of 5]

People are hating but this is very Jessa Kane coded, always has and always been 😂

[Rachel Hager · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was nasty.

[Fiatgal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly, funny and smutty.

[Rae🦇 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wtf was this Jessa 😂😂😂 straight to jail

Virgin fmc/non virgin mmc(no manwhore).

Claire: (fmc/18/blonde) Survivor.
Draven: (mmc/32/Raven haired) Grumpy.

[B.L. Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Surprise Ingredient

Kane never fails to surprise me with her storylines! They always are unique in a way you wouldn’t think works, but oh boy does it.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Another cute & Daddy-kink (lite) steamy instalove from Jessa Kane. This one has a cranky chef who instantly falls for a young new dishwasher at his restaurant. There is a tongue-in-cheek OTT mystical element that is funny to me (and was clearly meant to be so). Not one of my favorite JK stories but still enjoyable enough like all of this author's are.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, I eat up any book Jessa puts out, including this one... but this one didnt hit the mark for me.

The spice was there, the innocent FMC was there, the possessive/dominant/protective "daddy" was there, and the plot was there. BUUUUUT this one had a "magical" touch to it. Now, I LOVE fantasy, magic, whatever you wanna call it but this just wasnt that. I was honestly put off by that addition of magic as it didnt make any sense to the world. No magic to speak of out in the world. No history, no rumors, nada. Yet our FMC has it and its just immediately accepted without any freaking out?! Plus, this magic is... odd... Magical bodily juices that make food amazing? Weird. Banging in the pantry to get those juices? Awkward. Adding those to the sauce youre serving complete strangers? Ewe! That should go against everything the MMC stands for. That is the opposite of possessive and also, youre a chef! Shouldn't that bother you?? Youre sharing your woman AND essentially poisoning your customers, even if they like it... a little TOO much.

I feel like this story could have been just as good (or better, for me) without the magical element. I've read Jessa's other books where the magic actually plays a role that makes sense, and liked it. But not this one.

[MoonLit Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading Jessa Kane books, and know what to expect when reading them. The obvious health code violations, if taken serious, would ruin this story, but if you read a lot of JK books, then it's easy to see it for what it is in the story and find it entertaining. I do wish that it was not served to the public, that was a bit hard to swallow (pun intended), but it was the author's choice.

The story, without that aspect taken into consideration is a cute and entertaining read.

I typically don't include typos or errors that I find in my reviews. I tried looking up ways to contact the author, her website seems to be down, and I don't have IG or FB. So here they are:

“Um. Draven,” I say, distracting by what I see up ahead.
Kane, Jessa. His Missing Ingredient (p. 59). Kindle Edition.

“Draven, you can’t eat me breakfast!”
Kane, Jessa. His Missing Ingredient (p. 70). Kindle Edition.

I lift Clare fully onto my lap
Kane, Jessa. His Missing Ingredient (p. 82). Kindle Edition.
(FMC is Claire)

You’ve got another think coming.”
Kane, Jessa. His Missing Ingredient (p. 89). Kindle Edition.

[Tatiana Sayodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🔥
Draven is the definition of a grumpy, controlling chef barely holding his life together. Crushed by guilt, stuck in a creative rut, and drowning in the pressure of running a restaurant with his brother, he’s lost the spark that once made his cooking unforgettable…
Until Claire walks into his kitchen.
The new dishwasher is chaos wrapped in temptation, and for Draven it’s instant obsession at first sight. She doesn’t just ignite his desire — she becomes the missing ingredient in both his recipes and his life. 🔥
And when the words: “Do you want to be my daddy?” 😏 enter the conversation… things get dangerously spicy.
This novella was short, addictive, flirty, and packed with sizzling chemistry, playful tension, and enough heat to leave the kitchen on fire. If you love grumpy chef energy, spicy banter, and deliciously messy attraction, this one is definitely worth the read. 🤭🌶️😋

[Dark Book Girlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

With these short spicy novellas, I don't expect much as a lot of them I have read either have too much spice and no plot or plot and zero spice. Then in the worst case there's ones that have neither. This was right in the middle for me. The plot while basic was interesting and there was spice but it wasn't over the top or to much. With the plot I actually found myself actually wanting to know what happened and there wasn't any major stupid decisions on the characters part that annoyed me it was paced ok it didn't feel too rushed yet was still a short read. I definitely recommend if you want a short read with a ok plot and decent spice that isn't too in your face.

[The Dragon Den Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of His Missing Ingredient
* * * * *
A spicy little read that comes served a little extra hot with a side of wild and unexpected.

Draven and Claire's connection is almost instant, but slowly growing with the protectiveness until it is straight up delicious. Young woman all on her own and living it rough, big chef with a tormented past and a greedy slimey brother. The plot does come with a little something wild but not unappealing.
Let's just hope that they don't have the health department called on them because that would be an interesting critic review.