Books Like Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly
There was so much to love about Yes, Chef, but for me, it wasn’t just the restaurant setting or the grumpy sunshine romance between Poppy and Jack. It was watching two people who are carrying around their own insecurities and expectations slowly become exactly what the other person needs.
If you loved the food, the career struggles, the slow-building chemistry, and especially the way Jack sees and supports Poppy when she doesn’t always believe in herself, these are the romance books I’d pick up next.
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⭐ Start Here: Books Most Like Yes, Chef
👉 It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey – Start here for the closest overall character and romance vibes: a bubbly heroine who isn’t taken seriously, a grumpy hero who initially misjudges her, and a woman determined to prove she’s capable of more than everyone assumes.
👉 In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams – For the restaurant setting, years of animosity hiding attraction, family expectations, and a hero who believes in the heroine when she needs someone firmly in her corner.
👉 Savor It by Tarah DeWitt – For another chef who’s lost his way professionally, plus a heroine struggling against the expectations other people have placed on her.
👉 Caught Up by Liz Tomforde – Another great choice for the career crossroads of Yes, Chef, this time with a pastry chef questioning whether the future she’s been working toward is actually the one she wants.
The Best Books Like Yes, Chef
It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey
Grumpy sunshine • Small town • Opposites attract
The comparison between Yes, Chef and It Happened One Summer makes so much sense. Poppy and Piper are both bubbly women who aren’t taken seriously, and both find themselves opposite grumpy heroes who make some pretty big assumptions about them before discovering there’s far more underneath the surface.
Piper is also determined to prove herself as she throws herself into revamping her late father’s bar. I loved watching Brendan’s opinion of her change as he sees how hard she works and how capable she really is. For the character dynamics, grumpy sunshine chemistry, and heroine’s journey alone, this is one of the closest matches on the list.
In Your Dreams
by Sarah Adams
Restaurant romance • Enemies to lovers • He believes in her
This is probably the book I’d recommend first after Yes, Chef. Madison has spent years feeling as though she doesn’t quite measure up to her family, and James becomes the person in her corner as she works to get their new farm-to-table restaurant off the ground.
There’s also that delicious layer of animosity hiding an attraction that’s been simmering for years. And when their test night doesn’t exactly go according to plan? Let’s just say Poppy and Jack fans may feel right at home.
Savor It
by Tarah DeWitt
Chef hero • Small town • Finding your way
If Jack’s complicated relationship with his career in the kitchen was part of what hooked you, meet Fisher. He’s a hotshot New York chef who has lost both his Michelin star and his spark after a devastating period in his life, and he’s sent to small-town Oregon to get a new restaurant up and running.
Sage is fighting a different battle: she’s tired of being defined by her small town and everyone else’s expectations. I loved watching these two figure out who they are when they stop letting their pasts and other people’s opinions dictate what’s next.
The Slow Burn
by Ali Rosen
Chef heroine • Career reset • Italy
Like Jack, Kit has built her life around being a chef only to reach a point where she’s lost the connection to the work that once defined her. Being forced to step away from her restaurant isn’t exactly the Italian escape she would have chosen for herself.
But that disruption gives her the chance to rediscover why she loved cooking in the first place while opening herself up to a life beyond the kitchen. Pick this one if Jack’s struggle to find his way back to the career he loved was one of the parts of Yes, Chef that resonated with you.
Caught Up
by Liz Tomforde
Pastry chef heroine • Single dad • Career crossroads
Miller is an award-winning pastry chef who’s spent years chasing the next professional achievement, only to discover that she’s lost the spark that made her love baking in the first place. A summer in Chicago with Kai and his son starts challenging everything she thought she wanted.
Where Yes, Chef explores the pressure to prove yourself, Caught Up asks what happens when you finally admit that the dream you’ve been chasing may have changed. The romance is fantastic, but it’s Miller’s willingness to rethink her future that earns this book its spot here.
Mixed Signals
by B.K. Borison
Bakery owner • Friends to lovers • Confidence boost
One of my favorite things about Jack and Poppy is how their relationship gradually gives Poppy room to become more confident in herself. That’s the connection I’d make with Mixed Signals, where bakery owner Layla has reached the point of wondering whether lasting love just isn’t in the cards for her.
Then there’s Caleb, her sweet, dependable friend who makes her feel wanted without asking her to become someone else first. Their relationship helps Layla gain confidence both in and out of the bedroom, making this a great pick if Jack’s unwavering acceptance of Poppy was what got you.
Nuts
by Alice Clayton
Private chef • Small town • Foodie romance
Want another romance that actually makes food part of the story rather than simply giving one character a chef’s coat? Roxie is a private chef whose career takes a hit after a kitchen disaster, sending her back home to help with her family’s diner.
The food focus is a huge part of the appeal here, particularly the farm-to-table and slow-food elements woven throughout Roxie’s story. This is the one I’d choose when the restaurant world and sheer foodie goodness were what first drew you to Yes, Chef.
Bad Boy Era
by Amy Daws
Grumpy sunshine • Slow burn • Emotional vulnerability
The grumpy sunshine energy brings you in, but it’s the emotional acceptance that makes Bad Boy Era a particularly good follow-up to Yes, Chef. What begins with some enemies-to-lovers tension and a relationship that’s supposed to stay casual slowly turns into something unexpectedly sweet.
Both characters are hiding fears from the people closest to them, and I love how their relationship eventually becomes a place where they don’t have to hide. He also understands what she needs intimately without judgment and helps her feel more confident, which reminded me of one of my favorite pieces of Jack and Poppy’s relationship.
How to Fake It in Hollywood
by Ava Wilder
Fake dating • Hollywood • Reputation
This one takes us completely out of the restaurant world but keeps one of the more interesting dynamics from Yes, Chef: two people whose careers and reputations are pulling them in very different directions.
Grey is an actress trying to give her career a much-needed boost, while Ethan is a once-famous actor whose grief has caused him to retreat from Hollywood. Their fake relationship is supposed to rehabilitate both of their public images, but the emotional story underneath it is much messier. Choose this when you want the career pressure and heavier emotional side of Yes, Chef.
How to Pick Your Next Read
Want the closest overall character and romance vibes?
→ It Happened One Summer
Want the restaurant setting plus family expectations?
→ In Your Dreams
Want more food and chef life?
→ Savor It, The Slow Burn, or Nuts
Want another heroine figuring out what she actually wants?
→ Caught Up
Want more grumpy sunshine with emotional vulnerability?
→ Bad Boy Era
Want another romance where the hero helps the heroine feel more confident and accepted?
→ Mixed Signals
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