Chop Chop

* * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD * * *

Outrageously funny and completely original, Chop Chop by Simon Wroe is the story of a hapless young chef in the crazed world of the professional kitchen, featuring lust, revenge, neurosis and haute cuisine.

''A greasy, hilarious tale of loyalty, revenge and dark appetites. A gripping look behind the kitchen wall'' Shortlist

Two months behind on his rent, young graduate Monocle swallows his dreams and takes the only job he can find: the lowest-rung chef in a gastropub in Camden. Here he finds himself surrounded by a group of deranged hoodlums (his co-workers) and at the mercy of an ingenious sadist (the head chef, Bob). What follows is a furiously-paced, ribald, raucous and unexpectedly touching tale of loyalty and revenge, dark appetites and fading dreams, and a young man finding his way in the world as he is plunged into the fat and the frying pan and everything else besides.

''Perfectly baked [with] a rich, gooey pool of dark comedy hiding beneath the surface'' Independent

''Lively, amusing and alarmingly informative'' Daily Mail

''Arch comedy ... Dave Eggers channels Anthony Bourdain'' Kirkus

''A brutally funny look at the world of professional cooking'' Gary Shteyngart