When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he’s forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he’ll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal.

But it’s in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant—and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people.

Set in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980, If You Can't Take the Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.

Other cookbooks by this author

• The Book of Cocktail Ratios: The Surprising Simplicity of Classic Cocktails
• The Book of Cocktail Ratios: The Surprising Simplicity of Classic Cocktails
• The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat
• The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated)
• Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient
• Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient
• Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World's Most Versatile Ingredient
• The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen
• The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen
• The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen
• The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft For Every Kitchen
• From Scratch: 10 Meals, 150 Recipes, and Dozens of Techniques You Will Use Over and Over
• From Scratch: 10 Meals, 175 Recipes, and Dozens of Techniques You Will Use Over and Over
• Gabriel Kreuther: The Spirit of Alsace, A Cookbook
• Gabriel Kreuther: The Spirit of Alsace, a Cookbook
• Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America
• Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America
• Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America
• The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at The Culinary Institute of America
• The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at The Culinary Institute of America
• The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at The Culinary Institute of America
• Meat Pies: An Emerging American Craft
• Meat Pies: An Emerging American Craft
• Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen
• Michael Symon's Live to Cook
• Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen
• Pâté, Confit, Rillette: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie
• Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
• Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
• Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
• The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen
• The Reach of a Chef: Professional Cooks in the Age of Celebrity
• A Return to Cooking
• A Return to Cooking
• Ruhlman
• Ruhlman's How to Braise: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's How to Braise: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's How to Braise: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's How to Roast: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's How to Roast: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's How to Saute: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook (Ruhlman's How to... Book 3)
• Ruhlman's How to Sauté: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook
• Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto: The Ideas and Techniques That Will Make You a Better Cook
• Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, a Cook's Manifesto
• Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing
• Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection