Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Mebel is astounded when her husband announces he is leaving her for their 24-year-old chef. Their son has told her she is a CHIP – a Chinese-Indonesian princesss – and she is proud of that, and knows she has fulfilled her part of the marriage, catering to her husband’s every need for nearly 40 years:

Mebel has never understood why being a trophy wife is somehow looked down upon. She loves being a trophy wife. She makes such a fantastic trophy. She’s even shaped like one, all slender curves and long thin legs, which she has maintained in the exact shape for the last few decades. She takes pride in being a trophy, except now it seems that Henk has decided to swap her out for a new one, and the thought is unbearable.

At first, all Mebel can think about is how to get Henk back. She decides culinary school is the answer and she has fond memories of trips to Paris – she will find a program far from Indonesia that will teach her French cooking. Unfortunately, she accidentally signs up for the Saint Honoré School of Culinary Arts in rural England, not Paris. The accommodations in Cowley are not what she’s used to and she is astonished to realize she is the class dunce – not surprising when she has been waited on hand and foot her whole life but frustrating nonetheless.

Somewhat (but not entirely) humbled, Mebel decides she must make the best of her situation and settles down to learn. There are still some miscommunications with her instructor (he does not appreciate her custom chef’s uniform from Hermés or her admission that she always hires staff for her dinner parties and isn’t interested in becoming a chef). And it takes a while for her classmates to accept her but she does make friends, especially Gemma, who is the most talented cook in the class. Alain Moreau, the director of the school, has opened a restaurant in nearby Oxford, and expresses flattering interest in Mebel, who needs it after her husband’s rejection.

It turns out that Mebel can do whatever she sets her mind to – and now she has goals in addition to getting her husband back: can she and Gemma win a menu competition and how should she handle the discovery of a serious problem at the Saint Honoré School? Does she really want Henk back? And if she isn’t Henk’s wife, who is she, really?

Sutanto is Chinese-Indonesian like Mebel and has written books for adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. She won the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original for her novel Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. There is a little bit of a mystery in this book but the culinary school setting is what appealed to me initially (and there wasn’t as much of that as I expected); it turns out Mebel’s evolution from spoiled housewife to determined advocate of the exploited is the main plot. 

Sutanto is as glamorous as her heroine

Sutanto also describes the cultural expectations that caused Mebel to subvert her own personality in caring for her husband and son (who then took her for granted); however, there is also a lot of humor as Mebel begins to take responsibility for her own actions and becomes a knowledgeable observer of others. The students who assumed she was a clueless prima donna learn to respect her cooking skill (which was acquired much too easily to be convincing) as well as her ability to navigate an adult world that baffles them. It was a fun read and makes me curious about Sutanto’s other books.

Title: Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publication: Berkley, trade paperback, 2026
Genre: Fiction
Source: Library