Roselle Lim’s “Celestial Banquet” Serves Up Noodles, Myth, and Immortality

In Roselle Lim’s latest young adult novel “Celestial Banquet,” the way you cook noodles can change your life. The novel begins with 16-year-old Cai, our hot-tempered protagonist who is a young noodle chef in Lu Pong, an impoverished town. Despite living a hard life, she honors her late father’s memories through cooking. However, when the Major Gods host the Celestial Banquet again for the first time in 10 years, contestants from all over the Continent start to assemble their teams. Cai wants a piece of the competition too, especially the highly valuable, enticing reward — the Peaches of Immortality. 

Readers and those who grew up with Asian myths and folklore may find the Peaches of Immortality to be familiar. These are often portrayed as a prize for overcoming a series of dangerous trials and shared among long-lived beings. For Cai, the celestial peaches could change her life. Moreover, they promise to transform the lives of many others in Lu Pong and the surrounding peninsula itself. 

At the same time, noodles, especially Longevity Noodles, symbolize a long life in Chinese culture. It was not a coincidence when Lim selected Cai to be specifically a noodle chef. 

“The two things that I wanted to show is that noodles are very much an earthly aspect, and the Peaches of Immortality is more of a fantastical and mythical aspect to it,” Lim explained. 

Set in a vibrant, whimsical environment, “Celestial Banquet” seeks to captivate others with its magnificent world-building, a delightful but arduous love triangle, and a deadly culinary competition where only one team will emerge as the victors. I talked to Lim about the world of colorful, delicious recipes laced with nuances in social class and traditional gender expectations.

Revisiting Favorite Food with Writing

Lim infused her life experiences of growing up around cooks and her memories of northern Scarborough in Ontario, Canada, into the wondrous world and cast of the Continent. Drawing on mythology, dishes, and cultural traditions from across East and Southeast Asia, Lim serves up a story that simmers with adventure, hunger, and heart. 

During the competition, a Major God sets the stage and oversees the trial they are assigned to. Alongside the Empress, who herself is pursuing the conquest of expanding the empire, the two  taste the contestants’ prepared food and make the final verdict. Those who fail to satisfy these judges face judgment — or something far worse.

While it is exciting to see the chefs serve their dish of choice, Lim’s writing did not rely on just personal experience from having grown up with cooks in the family. She first made a list of all her favorite foods, a menu, and then a story to go with everything. To her, the most delightful part was the research. 

“I got to eat whatever the heck I wanted,” Lim remarked. “Some of them were my favorite dishes!”

She added that she could have watched cooking shows, but instead, one of her methods was to treat herself to an omakase meal with a sushi chef. 

“The best type of research is in-person and tasting everything and drinking in the ambience, like observing the chef right there,” Lim said. “How calm are they? Are they not calm? Like, how do they go about? Do they have very efficient movements? It’s just really fascinating.”

The culinary competitions at the heart of “Celestial Banquet” reflect each character’s distinct personality, background, and regional identity. Lim’s attention to detail shines in the variety of dishes featured, with each recipe chosen to embody the essence of the character preparing it. The cooking sequences avoid excessive technical description, instead focusing on emotion and intention behind every movement.

Rather than following a formulaic recipe structure, Lim builds tension and excitement into each culinary decision, evoking the high-stakes energy of a fantasy-infused cooking show.

Overcoming Adversity, One Dish at a Time

As a representative from Lu Pong, Cai faces additional challenges unlike her competition. While she too is a chef, Cai comes from a poor, working social class with no access to advanced culinary education, training, or professional network. Yet she bravely enters a brutally cold male-dominated world. 

Not only is Cai scrutinized by the other characters, her hard work and food presentation is even judged by the Empress. Their interactions are charged with suspense and tension, as both characters navigate a world that is notoriously unforgiving to women like themselves. Despite that common ground, their goals are in opposition to each other’s. 

“You have a young girl who doesn’t have any power and an old woman who’s clinging to power,” Lim said. “I wanted to show the contrast as well as how they are foils of each other.”

With Cai’s culinary skills, Lim emphasizes the difference between the wealthy and the poor through a surprising medium — food. 

“Poor people have access to different dishes that they consider to be a comfort and … [are] delicious,” she explained. “Certain ingredients, because of their price point and how expensive they are, are only accessed by the wealthy whereas the poor would stick to ingredients that they already know and are cheaper.” 

Through Cai’s ambitious journey, Lim shows us that regardless of social class and gender, delicious food can transcend boundaries and divisions. 

Achieving Immortality With Cooking

In “Celestial Banquet,” each competing chef will risk every breath and limb to acquire a special ingredient, even if the quest is precarious. Although Cai’s passion in life is cooking, others will force her to question herself as a chef. 

“It’s really hard for her to figure out what she wants,” Lim said. “Does she want to maintain something that she loves now or does she move forward? I don’t really envy her choices because different people will make different choices.” 

In addition to a romance plot involving the hardworking, protective Bo and the sweet-talking, handsome Seon, readers may feel a nostalgic connection to cooking. After all, food is a language that most families will feel all too familiar with.

“I know that, for me, if I was having a bad day, my dad or my mom would make me my favorite food, and that is an act of love,” Lim remarked. “If somebody’s feeling sick, you make them their favorite food or comfort food that you know will bring them comfort, and it’s an expression of love.” 

Joining Cai in the competition is the humorous, down-to-earth Minor God Kama, as well as the mysterious Tala. The fun, intriguing team dynamic can keep readers on their toes with friction and shocking revelations.

Like Cai, they all want to win the fantastical reward, the Peaches of Immortality. But it would take more than just culinary skills, quick wits, and survival instincts to emerge as the victors. 

In the end, only the Major Gods can pick one team to be the winners, mortals whom they have judged to be worthy of possibly obtaining immortality. The reward, though, may be too good to be true. Lim, for one, was meticulous with the various themes in her novel. 

“For me, you can achieve immortality if the food that you cook is so memorable,” Lim shared. “People would want to learn how to make that from you, because long after you’re gone, people will say, ‘Oh, this was Auntie’s dish. I copied that down, and I’m passing it to you.’ It can pass through generations and even through cultures.”

“Celestial Banquet” is available online and at your local bookstore. Links on this page lead to our Bookshop.org storefront, where every purchase supports both your reading journey and ours. Happy reading! 

You can also check out Roselle Lim’s official website. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Goodreads.