Chef’s Choice

In their charming 2023 rom-com Chef’s Choice, author TJ Alexander pushes queer representation in the genre forward by placing a transgender couple at the center of the story. After being unceremoniously fired from her job as an executive assistant for the CEO of a digital marketing firm, Luna O’Shea, a self-possessed trans woman who first appeared as a side character in Alexander’s celebrated 2022 debut Chef’s Kiss, is worried she won’t be able to pay her rent. But that’s before she meets Jean-Pierre, the over-caffeinated trans grandson of a celebrity chef who, in order to earn his inheritance, will pay Luna a lot of money to be his fake girlfriend. Luna assumes it will be an easy payday, until Jean-Pierre’s transphobic grandfather decides to up the ante. In order to secure his family’s fortune, Jean-Pierre, a talented chef in his own right, must prepare his granddad’s elaborate signature dishes on camera for an audience of millions with his new girlfriend by his side. Nevermind that Luna can’t boil an egg; the pair are like oil and water, disagreeing about absolutely everything—including what it means to be trans—until they finally find some common ground. As of last year, sales of queer romance novels were surging, according to the New York Times, but trans characters are still underrepresented outside of the indie and self-publishing realm. Chef’s Choice, a joyful celebration of trans love, is part of a wave of fiction helping to change that.

Buy Now: Chef’s Choice on Bookshop | Amazon