If You Can’t Take the Heat

From James Beard award-winning author Michael Ruhlman, a coming-of-age story about finding a new life and love in the kitchen...and trying not to get burned along the way.

When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he’s forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he’ll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal.

But it’s in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant--and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people.

Set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980, If You Can’t Take the Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.

Michael Ruhlman is a trained cook and an award-winning author best known for writing about food, chefs, and the work of professional cooking. He has also written for The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Gourmet magazine, and other publications. He lives in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.