Oliver, Jeff
WORK TITLE: The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Maplewood
STATE: NJ
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
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| HEADING: | Oliver, Jeff, 1975- |
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| 100 | 1_ |a Oliver, Jeff, |d 1975- |
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| 670 | __ |a CIP info (DC Books) : |b (Canadian ; b. date, 1975) |
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PERSONAL
Born 1975, in Toronto, ON, Canada; married Liz Blazer; children: one son.
EDUCATION:McGill University, graduated; Brooklyn College, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
- Home - Maplewood, NJ.
CAREER
Television executive and writer. Food Network, New York, NY, former executive; Bravo, New York, vice president of current production.
WRITINGS
- Failure to Thrive (novel), DC Books (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 2011
- The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East, Bancroft Press (Baltimore, MD), 2018
Contributor of stories to publications, including the Brooklyn Review, Nerve, and Yankee Pot Roast.
SIDELIGHTS
Jeff Oliver is a Canadian television executive and writer, who is based in Maplewood, New Jersey. He holds a degree from McGill University and a master’s degree from Brooklyn College. Earlier in his career, Oliver worked as an executive at the Food Network. In that position, he helped to organize shows, including The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia, Worst Cooks in America, and Cutthroat Kitchen. Oliver went on to join the Bravo television network, where he has served as vice president of current production.
Failure to Thrive
In 2011, Oliver released his first novel, Failure to Thrive. Like Oliver himself, the book’s main character, Jonathan Farb, is a Canadian television producer. Jonathan experiences multiple devastating events in quick succession as the story begins. He learns that he has a brain tumor that may kill him. He also discovers that his wife has been cheating on him with their unpleasant obstetrician, the man who delivered their infant son, Elliot. Realizing that his remaining time might be short, Jonathan determines to teach Elliot all he can. But first, he takes the boy to a strip club. Later, he tries to cram a lifetime worth of fatherly knowledge into a few days spent with Elliot. Jonathan also finds the courage to pitch a show that he has conceptualized to his network called Canada’s Next Great Apologist.
Reviewing the novel on the Jewish Book Council website, Ethan A. Zimman described it as “a frenetically paced, hyperbolic bildungsroman comprised of scenes that hardly seem possible.” However, Joe Winkler, critic on the Jewcy website, asserted: “Oliver never teeters into the maudlin. Rather, he creates a space for the insights that only humor can reveal.” Winkler added: “The book lags a little in the simplicity of its plot; there’s a creeping cartoonishness to parts of the story that feels unnecessary, and things fall a little too easily into place, but these factors don’t negate the larger picture. You forgive Oliver because the story engenders such warm feelings towards its protagonist, towards his deeply humane struggles. The book, though not perfect, introduces a writer of wit, perceptive cultural insights, and a big heart.”
The Two-Plate Solution
In Oliver’s 2018 book, The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East, he again draws on his experience in television production. The volume’s protagonist is Sara Sinek, who produces the American culinary television show, Natural Dish-aster. The show is in its fifth season and has been experiencing some difficulties. Now, Sara must organize for a special episode to be filmed in Israel. In addition to coordinating the obnoxious and self-centered contestants and judges on the show, Sara must confront her past. Years before, she spent time in the Israeli Defense Force. When the production starts, a group of angry Palestinians accidentally ends up on set after having been chased down by the Israeli police. Sara decides to help them hide by putting them on the show. The Palestinian group, called Mal-Malaika and led by a man named Izzelden Al-Asari, must pretend to be actors who are pretending to be terrorists in a gag for the production. The Palestinian will make up a group called Team Terror, which will compete against the other chefs on the show. Team Terror, leaning heavily on a man called Salid, ends up cooking an array of excellent dishes. Other characters in the book include the American chefs, Brandon and Dex. Brandon subscribes to the trend of molecular gastronomy and uses complicated processes in cook, which turn all of his food into foam. Meanwhile, Dex plays to his Texas roots by constantly wearing a giant cowboy hat and insisting on barbecuing everything he cooks. An additional concern of Sara’s is making enough money to send back to Nevada to help her brother Nathan, who is autistic.
Keren Brown, contributor to the Time Out website, suggested: “This is a book for anybody who has any connection to Israel, whether it be distant memories of a Birthright trip to a love for the passion of the locals.” Writing on the Jewcy website, Gabriela Geselowitz, commented: “Admittedly, the final twist at the end of the book is a bit difficult to follow. With all the cards finally on the table, it’s not clear how who double-crossed whom, and when. But like a good meal, it’s about the journey.” Geselowitz also stated that the book was “full of tasty bites.” “Fully human characters help make this hilarious send-up a standout,” asserted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Rachel Jagareski, critic in ForeWord, remarked: “Underneath the chuckles and the hyperbole, this romp is a fable with some hopeful themes about the shared humanity of Jews and Arabs (and common love of hummus and halvah).” Jagareski also called The Two-Plate Solution “a very satisfying book.” Writing in Booklist, Mark Knoblauch remarked: “Oliver’s production experience at the Food Network gives him authoritative insight into this topsy-turvy sphere.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2018, Mark Knoblauch, review of The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East, p. 38.
ForeWord, April 27, 2018, Rachel Jagareski, review of The Two-Plate Solution.
Publishers Weekly, April 30, 2018, review of The Two-Plate Solution, p. 42.
ONLINE
Jewcy, http://jewcy.com/ (January 11, 2012), Joe Winkler, review of Failure to Thrive; (June 21, 2018), Gabriela Geselowitz, review of The Two-Plate Solution.
Jewish Book Council, https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/ (August 14, 2018), Ethan A. Zimman, review of Failure to Thrive.
Time Out Online, https://www.timeout.com/ (July 26, 2018), Keren Brown, review of The Two-Plate Solution.
- Failure to Thrive ( novel) DC Books (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 2011
- The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East - 2018 Bancroft Press , https://smile.amazon.com/Two-Plate-Solution-Culinary-Mayhem-Middle/dp/1610882237/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1534216296&sr=8-1&dpID=51YeoyeZbaL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=detail
- Amazon - https://smile.amazon.com/Two-Plate-Solution-Culinary-Mayhem-Middle-ebook/dp/B07D37XM19/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534216296&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Two-Plate+Solution%3A+A+Novel+of+Culinary+Mayhem+in+the+Middle+East
About the Author
Jeff Oliver is Vice President of Current Production at Bravo and aformer executive at the Food Network, where he developed the hit seriesCutthroat Kitchen, and worked on other such epic culinary hits as WorstCooks in America and The Culinary Adventures Of Baron Ambrosia. He is the author of the acclaimed debut novel Failure To Thrive. Jeff lives in Maplewood, New Jersey with his wife, Liz Blazer, and son. - Jewish Book Council - https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/jewish-book-past-authors/jeffrey-oliver
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This author is available to connect with book clubs via video chat through the JBC Live Chat program.Availability:
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JBC NETWORK AUTHOR 2012-2013
Bio:
Jeff Oliver is a programming executive at the Food Network and has worked as a producer on shows including Last Comic Standing, Big Brother and the very uncomplicated Denise Richards: It's Complicated. A graduate of McGill University and Brooklyn College's MFA in Fiction, his stories have appeared in The Nerve Magazine, Yankee Pot Roast and The Brooklyn Review. He was born in Toronto and lives in Maplewood, New Jersey with his wife Liz and son Evan.Website:
www.jeffoliver.ca
QUOTED: "Oliver's production experience at the Food Network gives him authoritative insight into this topsy-turvy sphere."
The Two-Plate Solution
Mark Knoblauch
Booklist.
114.17 (May 1, 2018): p38+. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Two-Plate Solution.
By Jeff Oliver.
June 2018. 220p. Bancroft, $25 (9781610882231).
A televised top-chef competition gets underway in Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat. As if the clash of creative, self-centered culinary egos didn't provide enough drama, the seaside set is soon taken over by a small band of Palestinian terrorists. The television show's producer not only controls cast and crew, she's also an Israeli army veteran connected to the destruction of a Gaza town, a fact not unknown to the Palestinians. To avoid escalating the infiltration of the television show into a full-blown shootout, the terrorists integrate themselves into the cooking competition. A young Palestinian turns out to be an especially gifted chef, cooking up an ethereal version of sinaya, an everyday Palestinian dish. Meanwhile, television cast and crew begin to hook up with the gunmen, and soon all becomes a veritable stew of sex and drugs and heavy arms. Oliver's production experience at the Food Network gives him authoritative insight into this topsy-turvy sphere.--Mark Knoblauch
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Knoblauch, Mark. "The Two-Plate Solution." Booklist, 1 May 2018, p. 38+. Book Review Index
Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539647266/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=08049f35. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A539647266
QUOTED: "Underneath the chuckles and the hyperbole, this romp is a fable with some hopeful themes about the shared humanity of Jews and Arabs (and common love of hummus and halvah)."
"a very satisfying book."
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http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
The Two-Plate Solution; A Novel of
Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East
Rachel Jagareski
ForeWord.
(Apr. 27, 2018): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 ForeWord http://www.forewordmagazine.com
Full Text:
Jeff Oliver; THE TWO-PLATE SOLUTION; Bancroft Press (Fiction: Mystery) 25.00 ISBN: 9781610882231
Byline: Rachel Jagareski
The Two-Plate Solution is a molten broth of comic, nonstop action from page one. The American TV show Natural Dish-aster is shooting in Israel, and producer Sara Sinek, a Special Forces veteran with a secret about her time embedded with the Israeli Defense Force, is wrangling her vapid chef-testants into gear so they can wrap up the "abomination" that is season five. When a Palestinian bereavement support group falsely pursued by the police crashes past the "KravMaGuards" on set, Sara orchestrates a scheme to disguise them as actors playing terrorists competing against a united chef team on the show.
The complicated plot twists and dips from there like an ancient Cuisinart with a worn cord, but it is clearly backseat to the satire. A television executive himself, Oliver has a flippant familiarity with behind-the-scenes action, and he spares no one in the large cast of over-the-top characters, from the shallow judges to the puffed-up network execs. His focus is to skewer reality television, and competitive cooking shows in particular.
The descriptions of the TV chefs, whose ridiculous rA[c]sumA[c]s, gimmicky personas, and vanity are only excused by their supermodel hotness, are one hoot after another: Texas "cowboy" Dex wears ten-gallon hats and barbecues everything, while molecular gastronome Brandon converts everything into foam.
The flippant familiarity with behind-the-scenes drama keeps this "novel of culinary mayhem" moving. There are ludicrous cooking challenges galore; one involves digging on the beach to retrieve coolers of bizarro ingredients; another involves finely chopping ingredients for a Bible- themed amuse-bouche atop a fifty-foot crane while standing over a trapdoor. Snarky snippets of contestant's "interviews," complete with edited-out bits, add a lot of flavor.
Underneath the chuckles and the hyperbole, this romp is a fable with some hopeful themes about the shared humanity of Jews and Arabs (and common love of hummus and halvah) and about
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cooking simply and with joy. The Two-Plate Solution ends up being a very satisfying book, wrapped up in a guilty pleasure.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Jagareski, Rachel. "The Two-Plate Solution; A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East."
ForeWord, 27 Apr. 2018. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A536784640/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=8bb7f389. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536784640
QUOTED: "Fully human characters help make this hilarious send-up a standout."
3 of 4 8/13/18, 10:08 PM
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The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East
Publishers Weekly.
265.18 (Apr. 30, 2018): p42+. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East Jeff Oliver. Bancroft, $25 (220p) ISBN 978-161088-223-1
Never mind that terrorists calling themselves Mal-Malaika, on the run after a bombing in Haifa, storm the set of season five of National Dish-aster, an outrageous reality cooking show being shot (and shot up) in the Israeli resort of Eilat. It's ratings that count for tough, charming associate producer Sara Sinek, the star of this antic, satiric novel from Oliver (Failure to Thrive). Since the show must go on, Sara persuades Mal-Malaika leader Izzelden Al-Asari to hide his cadre in plain sight by swapping their black ski masks and machine guns for chef's whites and knives. The contestants proceed to serve up such dishes as blue cheese and durian in the halvah competition and oxtail liverwurst on the Seder plate. Salid, the main chef for Team Terror, draws on his tragic childhood to compose a magnificent sinaya, Palestinian comfort food. Meanwhile, money-hungry Sara struggles to support her autistic brother, Nathan, who lives in Reno, Nev. Fully human characters help make this hilarious send-up a standout. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East." Publishers Weekly,
30 Apr. 2018, p. 42+. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /A537852253/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=7cb4edbb. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537852253
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- Jewcy
http://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/reviewed-jeff-olivers-failure-to-thrive
Word count: 1107QUOTED: "Oliver never teeters into the maudlin. Rather, he creates a space for the insights that only humor can reveal."
"The book lags a little in the simplicity of its plot; there’s a creeping cartoonishness to parts of the story that feels unnecessary, and things fall a little too easily into place, but these factors don’t negate the larger picture. You forgive Oliver because the story engenders such warm feelings towards its protagonist, towards his deeply humane struggles. The book, though not perfect, introduces a writer of wit, perceptive cultural insights, and a big heart."Books
Reviewed: Jeff Oliver’s “Failure To Thrive”Jeff Oliver in his debut novel, Failure to Thrive, throws a hail-mary pass that lands, beautifully, in the arms of the readers.
By Joe Winkler / January 11, 2012“Beginning to tell a story is like making a pass at a total stranger in a restaurant.” With an opening sentence, “the flirtation begins and the story takes off.” So explains Amos Oz in his beguiling book of essays on literature The Story Begins. If opening sentences serve as flirtations, then Jeff Oliver in his debut novel, Failure to Thrive, throws a hail-mary pass that lands, beautifully, in the arms of the readers:
“A three hundred pound pro wrestler in lime green tights yanks the yarmulke off Jonathan Farb’s head and with it a fistful of Jewfro. His name is the Big Samoan and his legion of drunk fans cheer him on ringside: “Get that goddamn beanie! Jewboy’s gotta learn!”
This sentences acts not only as a hook, but sets the tone of the book, and in the case of this novel, announces the arrival of a serious talent. Oliver, with his feet stuck on the pedal, doesn’t relent.
Failure to Thrive tells the story of a reality TV producer, Jonathan Farb, who on the same day learns of a tumor in his brain and of his wife’s infidelity with a narcissistic bearded OB/GYN, the obstetrician who delivered their baby. Fearing his imminent death, Farb attempts to teach all his fatherly wisdom to his five month old son. He teaches him not only know about birds, bee and shiksas, but also about religion, money, politics and yes even about strip clubs. The strip club scene with Farb and his baby strikes me as one of the best strip club baby scenes, ever. Granted, there might be scant competition, but still, Oliver’s treatment of a potentially absurd scene turns into true comedic fodder as well as evinces deep tenderness. (A stripper snatches at the baby’s cheek saying, “what a shayna panim,” with a doting, possibly dying father, looking on, shepping nachas.) Besides, sticking 15 years of fatherhood into a few days, Farb attempts to achieve his career goals in finding the confidence to finally pitch the TV show he knows will work, “Canada’s Next Great Apologist,” because as Farb proclaims, “we should feel pride in our national talent”.
Besides a great ear and eye for the comedy in life, even amongst tragedy, Oliver’s talent lies in satire, though playful satire. Oliver takes on the insane world of obsessive parenting, the innards of network TV, our obsession with health foods, the insanity of certain religious people, and the sheer boredom of life, yet, Oliver, never falls into the realm of snark. All his satire displays a healthy loving sense of humor with enough bite to matter. Much of this rests in his ability to notice the details amongst the crazy circumstances of life. For example, Carol, the wife of the man who is having an affair with Farb’s wife, imagines the lovers having sex on, “her six hundred thread count Egyptian combed cotton sheets.” John Coltrane once wrote about the strangeness of vacuuming his house after creating his masterpiece A Love Supreme. The mundane, petty, stupid, but ultimately humane aspects of life do not cease for extreme moments, whether extreme pain or beauty. In these spaces, in the gap between circumstance and reaction, humor arises, and Oliver captures it.
On the whole, the arc displays a lesson learnt from the Coen brothers. The absurdities pile up in a frantic pace, violence intrudes, unexpectedly, into peoples’ lives, and characters find themselves in ridiculous situations, unable to grab their bearings. However, unlike the Coen brothers, Oliver loves his characters, and seeks to provide a sense of a strong emotional center, whereas, many of the great Coen Brothers films lack characters with a strong sense of empathy. Often, but not always, The Coen brothers seeks to create humorous situations instead of humorous characters, the Dude, of course, stands as their greatest exception.Like all great comedy, Oliver knows that the best humor infuses some tragedy, or weight into the story. In a story of death, infidelity, and the prospect of an infant growing up without his father, Oliver never teeters into the maudlin. Rather, he creates a space for the insights that only humor can reveal. Here, in a letter written to his son in the future, Farb captures the tension and hilarity of oversexualized and overintellectualized Jewish men.
“And soak up the knowledge! To be erudite is a lofty goal, a tradition of your ancestry. Jews are known as, ‘The People of the Book’ for a reason and so long as there is a nubile blond out there willing to trade a titty-flash for good study notes we will remain thus. Many a Bloomfield and Lipschitz (and Farb!) have gotten laid for no other reason than they gave good math tutorial.
Carpe Tuchus!
Your Proud Father”
The book lags a little in the simplicity of its plot; there’s a creeping cartoonishness to parts of the story that feels unnecessary, and things fall a little too easily into place, but these factors don’t negate the larger picture. You forgive Oliver because the story engenders such warm feelings towards its protagonist, towards his deeply humane struggles. The book, though not perfect, introduces a writer of wit, perceptive cultural insights, and a big heart. Oliver, in his introduction, explains that much of the writing arose from those ungodly hazy hours in the night/morning when his child would not go to sleep. One can only hope that Oliver plans on more children, or at least more hours awake while the rest of the world sleeps, letting his mind wander to wondrous places.
Tagged with: Houston , LOS ANGELES , NEW YORK , San Francisco - Jewish Book Council
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/failure-to-thrive
Word count: 322QUOTED: "a frenetically paced, hyperbolic bildungsroman comprised of scenes that hardly seem possible."
Failure to Thrive
Jeff OliverDC Books 2012
180 Pages $32.95
ISBN: 978-1897190760
amazon indiebound
barnesandnobleReview by Ethan A. Zimman
If there is one word that is synonymous with “reality” TV it is hyperbole, crammed as the genre is with ridiculous “you’ve got to be kidding me!” moments. Even though it takes more and more to truly appall us nowadays, it still happens. In a matter of a few pages of Failure to Thrive, Jeff Oliver’s debut novel, Jonathan Farb (a Canadian reality TV producer, naturally) discovers he has a possibly deadly brain tumor, catches his wife cheating with her middle aged obstetrician, and takes his five-month-old son, Elliot, to a strip club to clear his thoughts of all that has just happened. At this point you might be thinking, “this could never happen.” However, I can relate somewhat to the protagonist. In a two week span I was fired from my first job out of college, rear-ended someone in a car accident ($1000 deductible that I had to borrow from my parents), and was dumped by my girlfriend for whom I had moved cross-country. Needless to say, a lot of bad things can happen in a short amount of time. But, when faced with any amount of adversity it’s all about how you recover and move forward.
Farb recovers by setting out on a quest. Trying to rapidly raise Elliot to manhood (think infant bar mitzvah) before his time winds to a close, Farb is the hero of a frenetically paced, hyperbolic bildungsroman comprised of scenes that hardly seem possible. However, the culmination of all the unbelievable moments is that Farb creates an environment in which Elliot learns many life lessons and truly begins to thrive the way his father envisioned.
- Jewcy
http://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/jewcy-review-two-plate-solution
Word count: 550QUOTED: "Admittedly, the final twist at the end of the book is a bit difficult to follow. With all the cards finally on the table, it’s not clear how who double-crossed whom, and when. But like a good meal, it’s about the journey."
"full of tasty bites."Arts & Culture
Jewcy Review: ‘The Two-Plate Solution’A satirical thriller of culinary mayhem in Israel.
By Gabriela Geselowitz / June 21, 2018If you’re looking for a mouthful, try the title—or the contents of—The Two-Plate Solution: A Novel of Culinary Mayhem in the Middle East, by Jeff Oliver (Bancroft Press). Think of it as a thriller/satire/culinary guide/behind-the-scenes of reality TV.
The story begins simply enough— Sara Sinek is a showrunner at an American cooking competition program called National Dish-aster. They’re filming in Israel, and someone at the network thinks it would be a great plot-twist to bring in fake terrorists to up the stakes. The only problem is, a group of Palestinians, accused by Israeli authorities of a deadly terrorist attack, quickly crash the set, and hold everyone hostage for real.
If you think you know how the story will shake out, or the agenda of its author, you definitely, absolutely do not. The book moves at a breakneck pace, with so many plot threads and characters it’s more comparable of Game of Thrones than Cutthroat Kitchen, and there are zigs and zags all along the way. Nobody is who they seem, and the stakes (steaks? The book inspires food puns) change constantly.
The novel manages to be both cynical and naïve at the same time— on the one hand, it presents the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a violent quagmire (it is), but then emphasizes that the things that bring us together may be stronger than that which divides us… like a good meal. Also, for all its archetypal reality-show contestant characters, it does want us to care about what happens to the cast of National Dish-aster (season 5).
Oliver, a Bravo TV executive, has worked on his share of reality shows, and know how they tick— particularly, where real-life ends, and producing begins. He has imbued this knowledge into the book with humor, highlighting the absurdity of manufacturing, while also tightly controlling, drama.
As for the cuisine described in the book, it’s as much of a character as the hapless network executive who picked the wrong time to visit the set. In fact, you might not want to read on an empty stomach. Oliver used to work at Food Network, and from coffee-braised brisket to mouthwatering halvas to tahini-infused charoset, he serves up descriptions of all sorts of sorts of mouthwatering, cross-cultural treats.
Admittedly, the final twist at the end of the book is a bit difficult to follow. With all the cards finally on the table, it’s not clear how who double-crossed whom, and when. But like a good meal, it’s about the journey, far more than the sweetness of dessert. And The Two-Plate Solution is full of tasty bites all along the way.
Image courtesy Bancroft Press
Tagged with: Jeff Oliver , review , The Two-Plate Solution - Time Out
https://www.timeout.com/israel/news/foodie-read-of-the-summer-the-two-plate-solution-072618
Word count: 389QUOTED: "This is a book for anybody who has any connection to Israel, whether it be distant memories of a Birthright trip to a love for the passion of the locals."
oodie Read of the Summer: The Two-Plate Solution
By Keren Brown Posted: Thursday July 26 2018, 11:55am
Foodie Read of the Summer: The Two-Plate Solution
What happens when the president of current production at Bravo TV and a former Food Network executive decide to write a book? What happens when the boldness and heat of the characters of the Holy Land become a part of the backdrop of a food reality show? You get the Two-Plate Solution.The book The Two-Plate Solution, by Jeff Oliver, combines the laughs of a comedic novel with the suspense of a thriller, offering readers a peek behind the scenes of an ultra-popular food show, injected with many unexpected twists and turns.
Set in Israel, the colorful cast portrays sexy chefs and characters, but all with a comic exaggeration and hilarious excessiveness: it’s Anthony Bourdain's (RIP) raw and earthy bad boy flavor meets hilarious memories of an Israeli summer vacay. Take in all the Israeli references, the succulent Middle Eastern cuisine, and Hebrew slang while you sit on the edge of your seat. No good story is complete without a plot thickening, and this one is no different, as a group of crazed terrorists take over the set.
The cast of Dish-aster season 5 embarks on the journey of Middle Eastern cuisine all with a touch of reality, a lot of laughs, and food references that keep any food lover reading with suspense, having you rethink the complexity of the Middle East revealed through the beauty of two cultures, and all combined with the love of food.
This is a book for anybody who has any connection to Israel, whether it be distant memories of a Birthright trip to a love for the passion of the locals, or any connection to food; it revels in the local lingo, the heat of the locals, and all the unusual experiences that can happen in this small country combined with – yes – everything food and everything reality show.
For more information, check out Jeff Oliver’s Amazon page
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