Curl up with the perfect cosy, comforting Christmas romance.When Beth Brown loses her job and her boyfriend in the space of twenty-four hours, she thinks life can't get any worse. That's until she finds herself in the depths of the English countryside working for chef, Rocco di Castri. Not only does she have to deal with his legendary moods, but she's also expected to get his chaotic schedule and workload in check, all while she's nursing a broken heart. It's not long before Rocco's idyllic home starts to work its magic and soon she sees a softer side to her boss too. And as the festive season approaches, Beth dares to look forward to everything the perfect country Christmas has to offer - and perhaps some romance of her own. Until news of an unexpected proposal threatens to put pay to all Beth's plans. Will Beth get her happily-ever-after? Maybe, this Christmas... A festive gem from Jill Steeples, perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Heidi Swain and Julie Houston. Please note this title was previously published as Christmas at Whitefriars. What readers say about Jill Steeples: 'I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the very first page to the very last. A really great winter read, warm and cosy throughout. A very easy to rate 5 stars.' 'A brilliant story with all the right ingredients. Love laughter tears and smiles.' 'A feel-good story full of laughs, romance and caring with a few surprises along the way. This book is just what you need when the sun is shining on a chilly spring day.' 'Jill Steeples writing has a nice fast pace and a great easy flow. I love the feelgood factor of her stories. They always manage to put a big smile on my face.'

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE - NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY "VOGUE "- "NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER
"One of the great culinary stories of our time."--Dwight Garner, "The New York Times"
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It begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves to cook walks to his grandmother's house and helps her prepare a roast chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson. This book is his love letter to food and family in all its manifestations. "Yes, Chef "chronicles Samuelsson's journey, from his grandmother's kitchen to his arrival in New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come together at Aquavit, earning him a "New York Times" three-star rating at the age of twenty-four. But Samuelsson's career of chasing flavors had only just begun--in the intervening years, there have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show triumphs, and, most important, the opening of Red Rooster in Harlem. At Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fulfilled his dream of creating a truly diverse, multiracial dining room--a place where presidents rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, and bus drivers. It is a place where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can feel at home.
Praise for "Yes, Chef"
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"Such an interesting life, told with touching modesty and remarkable candor."--Ruth Reichl
"Marcus Samuelsson has an incomparable story, a quiet bravery, and a lyrical and discreetly glittering style--in the kitchen and on the page. I liked this book so very, very much."--Gabrielle Hamilton
"Plenty of celebrity chefs have a compelling story to tell, but none of them can top this] one.""--The Wall Street Journal"
"Elegantly written . . . Samuelsson has the flavors of many countries in his blood.""--The Boston Globe"
"Red Rooster's arrival in Harlem brought with it a chef who has reinvigorated and reimagined what it means to be American. In his famed dishes, and now in this memoir, Marcus Samuelsson tells a story that reaches past racial and national divides to the foundations of family, hope, and downright good food."--President Bill Clinton

In this sweeping chronicle of guarana-a glossy-leaved Amazonian vine packed with more caffeine than any other plant-Seth Garfield develops a wide-ranging approach to the history of Brazil itself. The story begins with guarana as the pre-Columbian cultivar of the Satere-Mawe people in the Lower Amazon region, where it figured centrally in the Indigenous nation's origin stories, dietary regimes, and communal ceremonies. During subsequent centuries of Portuguese colonialism and Brazilian rule, guarana was reformulated by settlers, scientists, folklorists, food technologists, and marketers. Whether in search of pleasure, profits, professional distinction, or patriotic markers, promoters imparted new meanings and uses to guarana. Today, it is the namesake ingredient of a multibillion-dollar soft drink industry and a beloved national symbol. Guarana's journey elucidates human impacts on Amazonian ecosystems; the circulation of knowledge, goods, and power; and the promise of modernity in Latin America's largest nation. For Garfield, the beverage's cross-cultural history reveals not only the structuring of inequalities in Brazil but also the mythmaking and ordering of social practices that constitute so-called traditional and modern societies.