My Series-ous Reading salutes the State of the Onion

 While this new year has certainly given us a plateful of surprises, my new round of Series-ous Reading has been quite a comfort zone in comparison. This year's theme is Culinary Cozy Feast and our starter is a new(to me) series set in Washington D.C. at the White House kitchen.

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy is the first in her set of White House Chef mysteries starring Olivia "Ollie" Paras. Ollie is a sous chef hoping to be promoted to the executive position upon the retirement of beloved mentor Henry.

 While she certainly has the skills for the job, there are a couple of obstacles in her way, starting with Laurel Ann Braun, a celebrity chef eager to add the White House spot to her brand, plus she has no chill when it comes to Ollie's talents.

The other difficulty is newly appointed "sensitivity director" Peter  Everett Sargeant, who is about as sensitive as a Mack truck when it comes to dealing with the WH culinary crew. He takes an instant dislike to Olivia and makes no secret about his preference for Laurel Ann as the next executive chef.

 Plus, a major league state dinner is being planned for two Middle Eastern countries about to sign a treaty that could change the game in terms of world peace and Sargeant is not making those plans go as smoothly as they should. His consistent meddling in the process and attempts at micromanaging with the representatives of the nations in question visiting the kitchen are hindrances in more ways than one:

Those challenges are pretty standard for most chefs but when Ollie finds herself taking down a potential threat to WH security one morning by using a frying pan to stop a fleeing intruder, her difficulties go quickly above her pay grade.

As it turns out, the man trying to gain access to the new President is Naveen, a former intelligence insider who wanted to give him a warning about a possible assassination plot planned by the Chameleon, a notorious hit man who may be targeting the upcoming treaty signing.  

Despite being asked by her Secret Service boyfriend Tom to not look into the matter, Olivia is concerned about any potential threat to the WH and the nation so she agrees to meet Naveen, who feels that the security agents have been compromised and only trusts her with the information that could prevent a major disaster.

Unfortunately, the Chameleon also shows up and gets between Olivia and Naveen permanently. As her personal safety and job security are both at risk, Ollie realizes that the best bet for saving the day on each of these fronts is herself:

This was a slight change of pace for me, with the semi-spy game action and dash of international intrigue, yet it didn't distract from the inside the WH kitchen plot points at all and wasn't openly political(the US president in this book is fictional, in a Harrison Ford kind of way) which works well for an ongoing series like this.

 Also, I really liked Olivia(who deserves a better boyfriend as Tom is a tad of a jerk at times) and her dedication to her work as a chef. Seeing what working at the WH kitchen is like is a solid part of the narrative and here's hoping that retiring head chef Henry shows up in some of the other books as well.

 Not that Ollie can't handle herself behind the stove but getting a few words of wisdom every now and then,particularly in dealing with that creep Sargeant(who is apparently going to be a regular workplace nemesis) from her former boss will be good to see.

So I will be reading more of these books, which have awesomely amusing pun titles such as Hail to the Chef, Buffalo West Wing and Affairs of Steak. Yes, White House menus and recipes are included in the end section and ought to be entertaining for those looking for fun foodie ideas. I do suggest avoiding appetizers involving cucumber cups, a menu item that kept being taken on and off the big state dinner plans for this tasty first fictional course:

For our next Culinary Cozy Feast offering, a cheese platter is being brought forward by Avery Aames to give us a taste of The Long Quiche Goodbye.

This introduction to the Cheese Shop Mystery books has Charlotte, along with her cousin Matthew, taking over the family fromagerie to update the shop into a cheese and wine must-stop for the ever growing tourist trade in their small Ohio town.

Trouble comes when their disagreeable landlord is found dead with one of the shop's knives sticking out of his chest not too far from their business. As Charlotte's beloved grandmother is seen as the main suspect, Charlotte has no choice but to clear the family name with a little help from a new friend.

This does sound like a mystery worth nibbling on, with a nice piece of cheddar and a plate of crackers on hand for page turning fun: