The Chef cover

The Chef

by Martin Suter

As the financial crisis grips the planet, Zurich's leading restaurant, Chez Huwyler, seems protected from the gathering storm. But when Maravan, dishwasher and undiscovered culinary genius and Andrea, stunningly beautiful waitress, are dismissed, they must find another way to survive. Maravan's seduction of Andrea after cooking a dinner which mixes the aphrodisiac recipes of his ancestors and the alchemy of molecular gastronomy leads to a business proposition from Andrea: romantic catering for couples. But when their company falls on hard times, they must enter into a much more unsavoury business, in an underworld where murder and sex feed otherwise unquenchable thirsts.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?