Interstellar MegaChef

I enjoy it when the publishing community gets together and decides to proclaim there is a new subgenre. These are a collection of books that have already been written but are now herded into a common bracket. Romantasy and Cosy Fantasy are doing great, and I have read a few of these. Low stake consequences set in a fantasy world. The next obvious step is Cosy Science Fiction. A book all about a Universe level cooking competition sounds ideal, but Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan is anything but cosy when it is discussing imperialism, xenophobia, and societal collapse. 

Saraswati Kaveri found themselves arriving on Primus on a refugee ship having become one of the few Earth inhabitants to have successfully left the planet on a refugee visa. Back on Earth, Saraswati was a successful chef but also had a family to die for. On Primus there is the opportunity to reinvent yourself and what better way than to take part in Interstellar Megachef, the biggest show in the known Galaxy. Will Saraswati’s primitive use of flame go down well in a society that believes it has evolved beyond its Earth roots? 

Looking at the cover of Megachef and reading the blurb may just give you the wrong impression that this is a slice of cosy sci fi that you can pick up and let your brain relax. It is anything but that. There are the trappings of the subgenre. It is a very character-centric novel. We get deep insights into the workings of Saraswati, but also equally into the tetchy character of Serenity Ko, who is given almost half the story. As is the tradition in the format, there is some sort of chemistry between these two opposites.  

The idea of a massive baking competition also sounds sweet but, like with the rest of the story, you soon start to see there is more darkness and depth to be found. Food plays a large part in the story, but so does the politics of food. Food represents society. The cold, aloof flavours of Primus versus the haphazard, but flavoursome, tastes of Earth. The snobbery over food is paralleled across all Primus society as they look down on all other cultures on most aspects of life. 

This development of snobbery and xenophobia is enough to add meaning and depth to the book. Many readers will wander along on the level of the juxtaposition between cooking and racism, but there are deeper layers. Lakshminarayan touches upon the idea of an Empire in decline, but the society does not seem to understand it yet. An Empire that spouts the teachings of its forebears but no longer lives them. A power that thinks it is superior to all and does not listen to other voices. Like with all good science fiction, there are parallels between this future tale and the world we live in today. Lakshminarayan is able to being an interesting perspective to a story that could have just been cosy. 

At over 400 pages, Lakshminarayan has taken on a little too much for the first outing in the series. Trying to combine hard science fiction ideas with cosy relationships is admiral, but they both require the work. Both elements are well catered for, thus the page count increases. I worry that elements of the book will miss the mark with opposing types of reader, they may not care for all the politics or all the handwringing. However, there must be plenty of science fiction lovers who like their world complex and their relationship dramas even more so. I would have opted for a hundred pages less or so and fleshed out more in future books, but for a piece of Cosy Sci Fi that Trojan horses in more allegories than most genre fiction, Lakshminarayan has done an interesting job.