SOLVED. Children's Picture book (fiction) about a Cooking Contest where the winner receives a golden stove. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Sarah]

I read this as a kid (sometime in the mid to late 90s/early 2000s). It's a children's picture book about a boy whose family is known for having great chefs (there was a specific line where it said none of the women in this boy's family had to cook, since the men were such good chefs). The boy wants to be a great chef like his uncle (pretty sure the parents are dead/aren't in the picture for some reason) but the uncle is really arrogant and doesn't want to be bothered by the boy. At one point, the king holds a cooking contest to find the best soup/stew, and the uncle is really excited because the winner receives a golden stove. The boy wants to help, but the uncle gets annoyed and says no. When the boy tastes the uncle's soup/stew the night before the contest, he realizes it could be better, and secretly adds a few more ingredients. The uncle ends up winning. However, the king asks the uncle to remake the soup/stew...and of course he doesn't add the boy's extra ingredients, which means the king receives a less-than-stellar soup/stew. Angry, the king arrests the uncle for tricking him, and takes away the golden stove (which the uncle says was only gold-plated anyway). The boy feels really bad, so he tells his aunt what happened, and the two of them remake the uncle's soup/stew, along with a ton of other things (biscuits and deviled eggs were some of them). They bring the food to the uncle's trial, and have the king taste it. Since it tastes like the winning soup/stew, the king is happy, and releases the uncle. The uncle is humbled, and lets the boy cook with him from now on. There was also an actual recipe for the soup/stew in the back of the book.
SOLVED: Beautiful Soup by Eleanor Clymer

[Sarah]

I also forgot to mention, that the illustrations were really beautiful, and very stylized. Everything was pretty flat, and the color scheme was earthy (browns, beiges, yellows, reds, whites, etc.).

[[deleted user]]

I found someone else with the same book on reddit. Exact plot. I'll link it in a comment

[[deleted user]]

Ugh, For some reason it only copies as a bing link. It's still worth a shot. They talk about the kid winning a golden stove at a cooking competition. https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&...

[Sarah]

Bump

[Capn]

Beautiful Soup


Beautiful soup
Authors:Eleanor Clymer, Hilary Einsel (Illustrator)

George, a boy who likes to cook, adds spices to his uncle's soup, which causes his uncle to go to jail

Print Book, English, ©1981
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, ©1981



image source: https://www.classicbooksandephemera.c...
also from this link: " A delightful story about a boy who loves to cook, with a recipe for soup on the last page."

[Capn]

(If someone with Librarian status could correct that link - should be with the rest of Eleanor Clymer's books). ;)

[Rainbowheart]

I fixed the author!

[Sarah]

Oh wow, thank you so much! I've been trying to track this down for years!

[Capn]

Hooray! Oh, my pleasure. I wish I could say it was available for free online somewhere, but I haven't been able to find that. :(

[Capn]

Rainbowheart wrote: "I fixed the author!"

Thanks, Rainbowheart <3