Culinary romances for teens

Romance novels for young adults that focus on cooking, baking, or restaurants

Updated June 16, 2023
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The secret recipe for moving on
Bischer, Karen
Paper Book
When Ellie is dumped by her boyfriend, she's forced to make new friends (while watching her ex swoon over his new girlfriend) in The Secret Recipe for Moving On, a smart and funny YA debut from Karen Bischer. Ellie Agresti's not sure anything could be worse than being...
The heartbreak bakery
Capetta, A. R.
Paper Book
A Lambda Literary Award Winner Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin's queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical--and makes everyone who eats them break up. "What's done is done." Unless,...
Hungry hearts : 13 tales of food & love
Chapman, Elsie
Paper Book
"A briliant multicultual collection that reminds readers that stories about food are rarely just about the food alone." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A stunning collection of short stories about the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives in teens,...
The surprising power of a good dumpling
Chim, Wai
Paper Book
An authentic novel about growing up in an Asian immigrant family with a mother who is suffering from a debilitating mental illness.Anna Chiu has her hands full. When she's not looking after her brother and sister or helping out at her father's restaurant, she's taking care of her mother,...
The way you make me feel
Goo, Maurene
Paper Book
From the author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, a young adult laugh-out-loud story of love, new friendships, and one unique food truck. Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food...
Love from scratch
Hill, Kaitlyn
Paper Book
Rival interns with sizzling chemistry in and out of the kitchen? That's a recipe for love. "Sweet and satisfying!"-Jenna Evans Welch, New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern...
The dos and donuts of love
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
A pun-filled YA contemporary romance, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar finds a teenage girl competing in a televised baking competition, with contestants including her ex-girlfriend and a potential new crush - perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off<...
Somewhere between bitter and sweet
Kemp, Laekan Zea
Paper Book
As an aspiring pastry chef, Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans -- leaving Pen to choose between disappointing her traditional Mexican-American parents or following her own...
A ph?? love story
Le, Loan
Paper Book
"Will leave readers swooning." --PopSugar ​When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their...
Café con Lychee
Lee, Emery
Paper Book
From the author of Meet Cute Diary comes a delectable rom-com that's brimming with zest and a sprinkle of sweetness. A must-read for fans of Casey McQuiston and Julian Winters. Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses--an Asian...
Fake dates and mooncakes
Lee, Sher
Paper Book
Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians in this heartfelt, joyful paperback original rom-com that follows an aspiring chef who discovers the recipe for love is more complicated than it seems when he starts fake-dating a handsome new customer. Dylan Tang wants to win a...
Tweet cute
Lord, Emma
Paper Book
One of Cosmo's Best YA Novels of All Time A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected. Meet Pepper, swim team captain...
A Cuban girl's guide to tea and tomorrow
Namey, Laura Taylor
Paper Book
A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick "A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is an absolute delight. Cozier than a hand-knit gray cardigan and richer than Abuela's pastelito recipe, Namey takes you from Miami to Winchester, and leaves your heart...
Bittersweet
Ockler, Sarah.
Paper Book
From the author of Twenty Boy Summer, a teen pushes the limits to follow her dreams--and learns there's a fine line between bitter and sweet.... Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life and knocked her...
Rubi Ramos's recipe for success
Parra, Jessica
Paper Book
Most Anticipated YA by Goodreads! "An earnest, charming coming-of-age story that will come for your heart and your appetite." --New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord Graduation is only a few months away, and Rubi Ramos's "recipe for...
Donuts and other proclamations of love
Reck, Jared
Paper Book
A sweet romantic story about donuts, food trucks, family, and first loves. It's easy to look at high school senior Oscar Olsson and think- lost. He hates school, struggles to read, and wants nothing to do with college. But Oscar is anything but lost---he knows exactly what...
Where there's a whisk
Schmitt, Sarah J.
Paper Book
Opportunity is what you make it in this up-beat and inspiring YA about food, friendship, and being true to yourself. Peyton Sinclaire wants nothing more than to escape her life as a diner waitress in her small, North Florida town, attend culinary school, and become a...
Radha & Jai's recipe for romance
Sharma, Nisha
Paper Book
To All the Boys I Loved Before meets World of Dance in this delectable love story that combines food, dance, and a hint of drama to cook up the perfect romance. Radha is on the verge of becoming one of the greatest kathak dancers in the world . . . until a family...
We can't keep meeting like this
Solomon, Rachel Lynn
Paper Book
"Impossible not to love." --Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Five Feet Apart A wedding harpist disillusioned with love and a hopeless romantic cater-waiter flirt and fight their way through a summer of weddings in this effervescent...
The summer of Jordi Perez : (and the best burger in Los Angeles)
Spalding, Amy
Paper Book
"This book is the queer, fat girl rom-com of my dreams! Plus-size fashion, a fat girl falling in love, nuanced friendships, and cheeseburgers! Did I mention cheeseburgers?" --Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin' Seventeen, fashion-obsessed,...
Love & gelato
Welch, Jenna Evans
Paper Book
Now a movie streaming on Netflix! A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping New York Times bestseller filled with romance, mystery, and adventure. Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn't in the mood for Italy...
A taste for love
Yen, Jennifer
Paper Book
For fans of Jenny Han, Jane Austen, and The Great British Baking Show, A Taste for Love, is a delicious rom com about first love, familial expectations, and making the perfect bao. To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and...

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