Teaser Tuesday: The Last Chinese Chef

. . "Every meal here had been a breakthrough into the unexpected, but the food she had eaten in his company had been something more. With him, this world of cuisine seemed not only intricate but coherently beautiful." -- The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones Magazine columnist and recent widow, Maggie McElroy, travels to China to handle a matter involving her husband's estate. She combines the trip with a story assignment to write about an up and coming Chinese American chef competing for a spot on the "culinary Olympics" team. It was not easy finding two sentences that capture the mood and appeal of this book, because there are several layers to the story. Like the classic Chinese cuisine Mones writes about, the book combines "flavors" and "textures" in ways that are satisfying, complex, and often surprising. I am reading this as my fiction choice for the Spice of Life challenge. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. .