I picked up Tart by Slutty Cheff without knowing much about it (aside from some buzz and those cheeky cover quotes from Lena Dunham and Dolly Alderton), and I’m so glad I did. This memoir is an absolute riot – a no-holds-barred through the life of an anonymous young chef in London’s restaurant underbelly. It felt like sitting down with a hilariously candid friend over late-night cocktails, listening to her wildest kitchen stories and steamiest secrets. I really enjoyed it; it’s raw, unfiltered and it’s ridiculously fun.
What’s It About?
Slutty Cheff (no, that’s not her real name) is a 20-something chef who skyrocketed from line-cook obscurity to Instagram sensation with her saucy, food-meets-sex storytelling. Her identity stays hidden behind a burger emoji (adding a little mystery and a lot of freedom), but her personality shines through every post and page. Tart is her memoir of working in London’s male-dominated restaurant world – think 60-hour weeks in basement kitchens, being the only woman in a cramped changing room, adrenaline-fueled dinner services, and after-hours escapades that would make Anthony Bourdain blush.
In these pages, Slutty Cheff dishes on everything: how she ditched a dull office job for the chaos of professional kitchens, the mental health crisis that pushed her to pursue her passion for food, and the whirlwind romance she had with a fellow chef that unfolds in the ungodly hours after their shifts. (Their love language is, unsurprisingly, food – instead of sending nudes, one sends the other a photo of 50 butchered rabbits. Romantic, huh?) One minute she’s “head over Crocs in love” and cooking up a storm with her new fling; the next she’s crying into “achy breaky artichoke hearts” after a brutal night. From drug-fueled kitchen parties to panic attacks in restaurant loos, Tart gives a behind-the-scenes tour of a young woman’s life in food that is as unabashedly honest as it is outrageous.
What Stood Out To Me:
- A Voice with No Filter
Slutty Cheff’s writing is remarkably honest yet somehow casual, like she’s speaking to a friend. The tone is chatty, vulgar, heartfelt, and hilarious all at once. She’ll regale you with a sensual description of a steak sandwich in one breath and drop an F-bomb or a jaw-dropping sexcapade story in the next. That unfiltered voice makes the memoir feel intimate and real – like a late-night gossip session where nothing’s off-limits. (Lena Dunham wasn’t kidding when she praised it as “the most visceral food and sex writing out there”. I found myself laughing on on page and cringing the next!) - Food and Sex (Served Hot)
Tart blends its two favourite indulgences shamelessly – food and sex are synonymous on every page. Slutty Cheff finds the sensual in every simmer and slice. She’ll compare perfecting a recipe to honing skills in the bedroom, or turn a cooking mishap into a flirty anecdote. It’s gloriously indiscreet and doesn’t shy away from the R-rated side of kitchen life. One of the wildest scenes has our girl coming home after a late shift and passionately jumping a fellow chef – while both are still sticky from the deep-fat fryer and bloated with post-work pints. It’s messy, sweaty, not exactly glamorous… and yet, in her telling, weirdly romantic in its own raw, rebellious way. I loved that she owns her appetites without shame – for oysters and orgasms, truffles and thrills. - Behind the Kitchen Door
As much as this book titillates, it also illuminates on what it’s really like being a young woman in the male-dominated restaurant world. Slutty Cheff gives us candid snapshots of the grind and grit of professional kitchens – the burns, the banter, the egos, the insane camaraderie of a 1:00 AM cleanup after service. She touches on the casual sexism too: ill-fitting chef whites designed for men, the lack of women’s changing rooms, the surprise of male colleagues when a woman actually holds her own on the line. But she doesn’t paint herself as a victim; if anything, she’s right at home in the chaotic, high-pressure kitchen environment. The way she writes about the adrenaline of a busy service, the “we’re all in this mess together” bond with her crew, and even the dark humour chefs use to cope – it all felt incredibly authentic, and reminds me of my times working in a restaurant back when I was a student.
Any Niggles?
I’ll admit, Tart isn’t a perfect book – if you’re looking for a tightly edited, linear memoir, you might find parts of this story a bit rambling. Slutty Cheff made her name writing zesty Instagram captions and Vogue columns in bite-sized form, and stretching that to a 300-page memoir does lead to a few lulls. There were moments that could have used a sharper edit. And despite her social media persona calling out toxic “chef bros”, the memoir doesn’t actually dwell too much on takedowns of toxic masculinity – most of the guys here are surprisingly sweet or endearingly odd (with the few outliers). But honestly, these are just minor gripes in an otherwise highly entertaining read. The meandering bits just made it feel like listening to a friend’s unfiltered life story, tangents and all, which I guess is kind of the point.
Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely, with one big caveat – you need to have a tolerance for raunchy and dry humour, salty language, and sarcasm. If you’re a fan of unapologetic, provocative voices, Tart is a delicious treat. It’s raw and raunchy, yes, but also strangely empowering to read a young woman (who I assume is of similar age to me) baring everything – her desires, mistakes, and ambitions – with such wit and boldness. I admire her can-do attitude and the guts it would have taken to leave the comfortable corporate world to pursue cooking.
Have you read Tart? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
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