Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe
‘Full of quirky characters, friendship and humour, you will devour this engaging and heartwarming novel in one sitting’ – Sunday Express’ S MagazineThe brand new book from bestselling author Debbie Johnson will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you raid the pantry in the middle of the night…The Comfort Food Cafe is perched on a windswept clifftop at what feels like the edge of the world, serving up the most delicious cream teas; beautifully baked breads, and carefully crafted cupcakes. For tourists and locals alike, the ramshackle cafe overlooking the beach is a beacon of laughter, companionship, and security – a place like no other; a place that offers friendship as a daily special, and where a hearty welcome is always on the menu.For widowed mum-of-two Laura Walker, the decision to uproot her teenaged children and make the trek from Manchester to Dorset for the summer isn’t one she takes lightly, and it’s certainly not winning her any awards from her kids, Nate and Lizzie. Even her own parents think she’s gone mad.Her new job at the cafe, and the hilarious people she meets there, give Laura the chance she needs to make new friends; to learn to be herself again, and – just possibly – to learn to love again as well.For her, the Comfort Food Cafe doesn’t just serve food – it serves a second chance to live her life to the full…What readers are saying about Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe:‘My new favourite author’ – Holly Martin, bestselling author of ‘Summer at Rose Island’'A lovely, emotion-filled, giggle-inducing story' – Sunday Times bestselling author Milly Johnson‘Heart-warming and optimistic, Summer at the Comfort Food Café is a genuinely gorgeous novel, a book of hope and solidarity, friendship and humour and the belief that everything might just turn out okay after all’ – Sophie, Reviewed the Book‘Everything I hoped it would be and more’ – Becca’s Books‘Fans of Paige Toon will enjoy this beautiful story’ – Erin’s Choice‘If this book had arms it would grab you and pull you in to the most amazing book ever…just magical’ – Lisa Talks About‘An engaging, entertaining and loveable book’ – Rae’s Reads‘I wish I could actually go there…an original story and it has such a romantic ending’ – With Love for Books
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Summer at the Comfort Food Café
DEBBIE JOHNSON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2016
Copyright © Debbie Johnson 2016
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design by HarperCollinsPublishers
Cover design by Alex Allden
Debbie Johnson asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
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No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,
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Ebook Edition © April 2016 ISBN: 9780008150242
Version 2018-09-21
‘A sheer delight’
Sunday Express
‘A lovely, emotion-filled, giggle-inducing story’
Milly Johnson
‘The perfect summer story’
Jane Costello
‘My new favourite author’
Holly Martin
‘Has all the best ingredients for a holiday read: the beautiful West Country, a family-run farm, and a mystery man with Poldark-style charms’
Yours Magazine
‘Funny, raunchy, and heartwarming…Buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it’
Hello Chick Lit
‘I’ve got nothing but love for this amazing novel and its author’
Spoonful of Happy Endings
‘I laughed, screamed in frustration and felt the truly happy feeling that you get when you turn the final page of a great story…Bridget Jones eat your heart out’
Lisa Talks About
‘A beautifully addictive read’
Reviewed the Book
Table of Contents
COOK WANTED – MUST BE COMFORTING
We are looking for a summer-season cook for our busy seaside café. The job will also involve taking orders and waiting on tables. The successful applicant will be naturally friendly, be able to boil an egg, enjoy a chat and have a well-developed sense of empathy with other human beings. Good sense of humour absolutely vital. The only experience required is experience of life, along with decent cooking skills. Pay is pitiful, but the position comes with six weeks’ free use of a luxury holiday cottage in a family-friendly setting near the Jurassic Coast, with use of a swimming pool, games room and playground. Children, dogs, cats, guinea pigs and stray maiden aunts all welcome. No application form needed – if you’re interested, send us your heart and soul in letter form, telling us why you think you’re right for the job. Post your essays to Cherie Moon, The Comfort Food Café, Willington Hill, near Budbury, Dorset.
Dear Cherie,
I’m writing to you about the job you advertised for a cook at the Comfort Food Café in Dorset.
This is about my sixth attempt at composing this letter, and all the rest have ended up as soggy, crumpled balls lying on the floor around the bin – my aim seems to be as off as my writing skills. I’ve promised myself that this time, no matter how long it gets, or how many mistakes I might make, this will be the final version. From the heart, like you asked for, even if it takes me the rest of the day. If nothing else it’s pretty good therapy.
This is probably not the most professional or brilliant way to make a first impression, and you’re most likely thinking about filing this under ‘N for nutter’ – or possibly ‘B for bin’. I can only apologise – my hand’s a bit cramped now and I have a blister coming up on my ring finger. I haven’t written this much since my A levels, so please forgive me if it gets a bit messy.
To be honest, everything in my life is a bit messy. It got that way just over two years ago, when my husband, David, died. He was the same age as me – I’m thirty-five now – and he was the love of my life. I can’t give you a romantic story about how we met at a wedding or got set up on a blind date by friends, or how our eyes met across a crowded nightclub – mainly because our eyes actually met across a crowded playground when we were seven years old.
