Monday 6 June 2016

Guest Review: The Plumberry School of Comfort Food Part 2 by CathyBramley

Despite the drama of the opening day, Verity and the rest of the team are determined to tighten up their apron strings and make a success of the cookery school – even their previously hot-tempered chef is showing his soft side and getting stuck in. 

The charming village of Plumberry is working its magic on Verity too, and as Verity's plans for a major event at the cookery school come together, the whole community starts to get involved... 

But as friendships bubble and a sprinkling of romance is added to the mix, will Verity get her fingers burnt just when things were looking peachy? 

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is an irresistibly charming novel told in four parts - following the adventures of Verity Bloom in love, friendship and cooking. This is Part Two.


This is the second part of a serialised story from a favourite of mine, Cathy Bramley. Her books are always entertaining, and this one is proving no exception. Part one left the poor reader on the edge of the cliff wondering what was going to become of the school and its owner, so I got round to reading this next instalment asap.

The story revolves around Verity Bloom, who has moved to the lovely Yorkshire village of Plumberry to help her friend Gloria get her new cookery school off the ground. This was meant to be a temporary arrangement for just a month while Verity is between jobs, but it looks like it will last a lot longer. Although Gloria has had a serious accident and is incapacitated, Verity, along with Michelin-star chef Tom, and friends Mags and Pixie, are proceeding with the courses planned for the opening of the new school. As with all new ventures, there are a few teething problems, but things are progressing nicely. Verity's relationship with Tom, both in and out of the kitchen, is strained at times, but there may be a hint of a romance there. Any disagreements between them are forgotten when a bad storm hits the village and everyone has to pull together to help the community.

I enjoyed watching the relationships amongst the characters in the story develop further in this part. I like that Verity is such an upbeat person, always ready with new ideas and solutions to problems. I'm sure that I wouldn't be the only person to envy her this ability. Once again, Cathy Bramley has described this quaint little village and the setting for the cookery school so well that I can picture all the lovely food shops and the converted mill that houses the cookery school.  As with the last part of the book, Cathy has added a few mouthwatering recipes at the end. So, if the story has inspired you to cook, there are some dishes to try. Looking forward to part three!

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