Cooking with Shereen from Scratch

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUN 7, 2021

QVC alum Pavlides, who shot into the social media stratosphere with a banana bread recipe that went viral on TikTok, offers solid instructions for basics in her energetic if cloying debut. True to the title, she provides recipes for homemade phyllo pastry and mayonnaise to dress Caesar salad (though the use of canned beans is conceded). She harnesses the heavy-handed enthusiasm of a spin-class instructor as she urges readers to make pita ("Because it's BETTER and you CAN!"), but her bubbly on-screen persona often translates to chaos on the page, as when Pavlides interjects "It's Italian!" like a catchphrase that doesn't quite land. Indeed, cutesy locution ("Snicky Snacks" and "Meat-a-ballz") and low-hanging "Chefie Tips"—such as doubling a recipe to feed a larger group—sometimes feel like an attempt to inject personality into old-hat pairings such as beets with goat cheese, and sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar. Greek (her husband is "half Greek Cypriot") and Italian choices dominate, while chapters on breakfast, dependable desserts (including that star-making banana bread), and cocktails (such as cranberry margaritas) mean there's something for everyone, but the question remains whether Pavlides's online audience will be interested in a print version of her antics. This is a classic example of the TikTok versus reality dilemma.