Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Take one woman longing for the perfect Christmas . . .
All Clara has ever wanted is Christmas surrounded by loved ones, full of warmth and delicious food. So when her new boyfriend asks her to move to Switzerland, she can't help but say yes! After all, what could be more perfect than Christmas in the Alps?
Add a dash of surprise
She quickly signs up for a tempting chocolate-making class, but it turns out to be chocolate-making bootcamp! And her boyfriend isn't all he seemed either . . .
And enjoy a magical festive treat!
Despite it all, Clara begins to make friends - including the aloof yet intriguing Gabriel. With all of the ingredients at her fingertips, will she finally be able to whisk up her Christmas dream?
Many thanks to Random House UK via NetGalley for my copy of A Recipe for Christmas to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Whether it be a summer or winter book you are always guaranteed a fantastic read from Jo Thomas and this new festive read - A Recipe for Christmas - proved to be no different. This book had the honour of being my first Christmas read for the 2024 season and it certainly lived up to all expectations and put me right in the mood for Christmas. With a colourful, warm, inviting and eye catching cover, the reader is immediately sucked into this wonderful story which is a real feast for the senses. The mention of Lindt chocolate on the opening page had my mouth watering and had me adding said chocolates to my shopping list that week.
Jo is known for having food or cooking to feature heavily in her books and that’s what sets them apart from all the rest. Chocolate and becoming a chocolatier is the main focus here and be warned don’t read this on an empty stomach or else you’ll end up craving chocolate. Make sure to have a square or two to hand as you delve into a creative story full of flavour, community, friendship and the perfect combination of Christmas and chocolate.
Clara MacKenzie is the main female character and when we are first introduced to her she is about to embark upon a major life change. She is leaving the comfort, routine and familiarity of a job that she has worked in all her life. She has worked her way up from the café to human resources in a local department store but she has now taken voluntary redundancy. She wants to do something different with her life. It’s time for a change and some adventures before she hits 40 as 23 years in the same job has taken it’s toll on her. In order to secure her redundancy package she must undertake a course of some sort and when her partner Daniel (with whom she hasn’t been with that long) is offered a job in Switzerland she decides to take the bull by the horns and go with him. Whilst there she hopes to complete a chocolate course in order to get her full redundancy. I mean what could be better than to soak up and savour all that that Switzerland has to offer whilst at the same time enjoying herself on the course?
The setting of Switzerland is simply stunning. You feel as if you have been whisked away to a country with snow-capped mountains, rivers, pine trees, wooden chalets and of course all the mentions of chocolate of which there are numerous. Yet, you haven’t left the comfort and warmth of your own home but still you are taken on an adventure where Clara gets a lot more than she bargained for and in doing so she discovers a lot more about what she wants and what she is truly capable of. Clara sets about immersing herself in the culture and history of Switzerland but soon discovers the course is not what she had expected at all. Instead of a relaxing time sampling the various chocolate creations and delights that the company, Audair, has to offer she finds herself literally thrown into the fire as the various participants and the content of the course itself are very serious. There is no room for amateurs here of which Clara definitely very much is one.
I loved how Clara didn’t up sticks and run away at the first hurdle which she could have very easily done. Instead, she chose to battle it out and learn as much as she could and prove to herself and the others that she could do it even if she was literally like a fish out of water. She pushed herself way beyond the limits of her comfort zone and she deserved nothing but admiration and respect for this. It’s not plain sailing for Clara by any means especially as she discovers fairly early on that Daniel is not all he seems and soon she finds herself flying solo. But she has courage and tenacity and she is not going to head back to England with her tail between her legs. It’s not the redundancy money that she cares about instead she is trying to better herself and soon progress, creativity and invention are all traits that start to emerge that she didn’t realise that she possessed.
Clara embeds herself into her chocolate making family and the supporting characters of Frederic, Sebastien, Michel, Patrice and Fleur all start to show their own qualities. Each have their own little backstory to share which becomes more apparent the further you read. These all melded wonderfully with Clara’s main story and only added to my overall enjoyment of the book. Madame Noeletta, the principal of the chocolate school, seemed to view Clara with disdain but I loved how Clara didn’t let this bother her at all. Instead she rose to every challenge thrown at her and put in so time, effort and practice that she was determined to succeed. Yes she may not have had the talents, expertise and background that the other participants on the course possessed but she was determined to keep going and learn as much as she could.
As I was reading I kept thinking Jo Thomas must have had the time of her life undertaking research for this book. It’s simply a chocolate lovers dream. All the little details surrounding the chocolate making process and all the different techniques the course participants learned were fascinating. At no point did the story become overloaded with details of food and chocolate which it very much could have done. Rather the perfect balance was struck alongside the more personal and human story of Clara. Going on the course brings something to life within her. Something she didn’t know she had and it was so enjoyable to see her go from a woman who didn’t know what she wanted in life now that her security blanket of her long term job was gone to someone who became inspirational and confident and who wanted to help herself and those around her. This is very much evident hen she starts to develop a friendship with Gabriel, who was a mentor on the course and a world famous chocolatier in his own right.
As with many of the other characters Gabriel had his own secrets and to be honest I did guess fairly early on what was going on with him. But it took longer for Clara to crack his shell and discover what was bothering him. Their’s was a friendship which I could potentially see developing into something more. There is a strong fire lit within Clara as she becomes determined and enthusiastic and she transfers these qualities to Gabriel. I did feel sorry for Gabriel. He was going through a tough time and had the weight of the world on his shoulders but with the help of Clara maybe he can start to believe in himself. Through the process of helping Gabriel and keeping things going on the course Clara also starts to change and instead of being the bottom of the class and so different from the others she starts to find her niche and it was brilliant to see her hard work, learning and skills emerge and come to the fore. That said there was plenty of stumbling blocks and challenges put in her path and as we raced towards the climax there was one event which I thought there was no coming back from. But Clara was amazing and took the lead and here is where friendship, community and working together really paid off.
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the time I spent reading, A Recipe for Christmas. Jo Thomas creates the most wonderful feel good stories and this was a prime example of that. Chocolate for Clara is the one constant in her life which makes her feel safe and this is something we can all relate to at one time or another but going on the course takes things to an entirely different level for her. Her senses are heightened and she learns with some encouragement that if you work at the things you want in life you will be richly rewarded. How she is rewarded and how the story overall pans out, well you will have to pick up this delightful and entertaining seasonal tale. Now I’ll just have to wait patiently for my next fix of the magic that is Jo Thomas when in June I will be venturing to Tuscany with her next book A Place in the Sun.
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