Restaurant Wars: Cafeteria Edition : How I Learned to Lead a Kitchen, Survive the Janitor, and Save Lunch

What if the cafeteria was the most dangerous room in school? Max Rodriguez is just trying to survive 7th grade. He talks to ghosts on a hotline, blew up the gym with triangles, and now he's been drafted into Restaurant Wars: a four-week cooking competition run by Mr. Gus, the janitor with a mop and a vendetta against food poisoning. His team? The Reject Table. The goal? Don't poison anyone. The problem? Kevin ate glue in kindergarten. Together with Tasha the spice genius, Priya the thermometer queen, Maya the drama kid, and a team of chaos gremlins, Max has to learn: - Why 165°F matters more than winning - How to lead by peeling onions and shutting up - Why criticism isn't mean — it's how you get better - That the secret ingredient was never on the floor. It was them. Restaurant Wars: Cafeteria Edition is a hilarious, heart-filled middle grade novel for fans of Gordon Korman, Gordon Ramsay, and anyone who's ever been hungry. Perfect for ages 8-12, this STEM-inspired story blends food science, leadership, and laugh-out-loud disasters into one unforgettable semester. Featuring real food safety tips, recipes for Kofta Bowls and Victory Garden Pizza, and a janitor who proves "clean as you go" applies to life too. It's never just lunch.