Review

"In this entertaining debut novel, Frank Delgado tries to save his failing restaurant by returning to Cuba, his dead father's homeland, to get ahold of a top-secret chicken recipe. But there is more than delicious chicken at stake here. Food is the road home--geographically, emotionally, metaphorically. Peppered with cooking advice from chefs, ordinary folks, and celebrities including Fidel Castro himself (an advocate of pork), Phillipe Diederich's "Sofrito" is a love letter to the deepest recesses of nostalgia's heart."--Cristina Garcia, author of "Dreaming in Cuban" and "King of Cuba"

""Sofrito" has the sweaty seduction of Havana's streets and the warm spirit of its food." "Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History" and" Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World"
"In this entertaining debut novel, Frank Delgado tries to save his failing restaurant by returning to Cuba, his dead father s homeland, to get ahold of a top-secret chicken recipe. But there is more than delicious chicken at stake here. Food is the road homegeographically, emotionally, metaphorically. Peppered with cooking advice from chefs, ordinary folks, and celebrities including Fidel Castro himself (an advocate of pork), Phillipe Diederich s "Sofrito" is a love letter to the deepest recesses of nostalgia s heart.""Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and King of Cuba"
"A moveable feast full of folkloric flavors, comical rhythms and magic. One man's quest for the perfect spice leads him towards love for a woman and for his lost Cuba. In heaven, I know Oscar Hijuelos is smiling." "Ernesto Quinones, author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire"
"Frank Delgado s parents fled Cuba after the Revolution, so when Frank has to make an unexpected trip to his parents homeland, he s not really prepared. What brings him to Cuba? Oh, no biggie just stealing a recipe that is a closely guarded state secret ... " "Susie Rodarme, Book Riot"
"Just before Cuba busts open and its complicated essence is diluted by un monton de turistas, Phillippe Diederich s debut novel gives us an immersion complete with sights, sounds and maybe most importantly tastes. Food and travel go together, both with the power to edify, transport and even haunt. "Sofrito" does all three." "Laura Reiley, Tampa Bay Times"
"The language, nuance and settings ring true and give insight into a world not known by many Americans. Using the metaphor of the sauce essential to all Cuban cooking, Frank Delgado s journey is a search of his personal sofrito, the personal foundation needed to understand his life and identity as a Cuban American." "Jesus Salvador Trevino, Latinopia""

""Sofrito" has the sweaty seduction of Havana's streets and the warm spirit of its food." "Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History" and" Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World"
"In this entertaining debut novel, Frank Delgado tries to save his failing restaurant by returning to Cuba, his dead father s homeland, to get ahold of a top-secret chicken recipe. But there is more than delicious chicken at stake here. Food is the road homegeographically, emotionally, metaphorically. Peppered with cooking advice from chefs, ordinary folks, and celebrities including Fidel Castro himself (an advocate of pork), Phillipe Diederich s "Sofrito" is a love letter to the deepest recesses of nostalgia s heart.""Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and King of Cuba"
"A moveable feast full of folkloric flavors, comical rhythms and magic. One man's quest for the perfect spice leads him towards love for a woman and for his lost Cuba. In heaven, I know Oscar Hijuelos is smiling." "Ernesto Quinones, author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire"
"Frank Delgado s parents fled Cuba after the Revolution, so when Frank has to make an unexpected trip to his parents homeland, he s not really prepared. What brings him to Cuba? Oh, no biggie just stealing a recipe that is a closely guarded state secret ... " "Book Riot"
"Just before Cuba busts open and its complicated essence is diluted by un monton de turistas, Phillippe Diederich s debut novel gives us an immersion complete with sights, sounds and maybe most importantly tastes. Food and travel go together, both with the power to edify, transport and even haunt. "Sofrito" does all three." "Tampa Bay Times"
Exceptionally well written certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library general fiction collections. "Midwest Book Review"
"The language, nuance and settings ring true and give insight into a world not known by many Americans. Using the metaphor of the sauce essential to all Cuban cooking, Frank Delgado s journey is a search of his personal sofrito, the personal foundation needed to understand his life and identity as a Cuban American." "Latinopia"
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"Sofrito has the sweaty seduction of Havana's streets and the warm spirit of its food." --Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History and Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

"In this entertaining debut novel, Frank Delgado tries to save his failing restaurant by returning to Cuba, his dead father's homeland, to get ahold of a top-secret chicken recipe. But there is more than delicious chicken at stake here. Food is the road home--geographically, emotionally, metaphorically. Peppered with cooking advice from chefs, ordinary folks, and celebrities including Fidel Castro himself (an advocate of pork), Phillipe Diederich's Sofrito is a love letter to the deepest recesses of nostalgia's heart."--Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and King of Cuba

"A moveable feast full of folkloric flavors, comical rhythms and magic. One man's quest for the perfect spice leads him towards love for a woman and for his lost Cuba. In heaven, I know Oscar Hijuelos is smiling." --Ernesto Quinones, author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire

"Frank Delgado's parents fled Cuba after the Revolution, so when Frank has to make an unexpected trip to his parents' homeland, he's not really prepared. What brings him to Cuba? Oh, no biggie -- just stealing a recipe that is a closely guarded state secret ... " --Book Riot

"Just before Cuba busts open and its complicated essence is diluted by un monton de turistas, Phillippe Diederich's debut novel gives us an immersion complete with sights, sounds and -- maybe most importantly -- tastes. Food and travel go together, both with the power to edify, transport and even haunt. Sofrito does all three." --Tampa Bay Times

"Exceptionally well written ... certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library general fiction collections." --Midwest Book Review

"The language, nuance and settings ring true and give insight into a world not known by many Americans. Using the metaphor of the sauce essential to all Cuban cooking, Frank Delgado's journey is a search of his personal sofrito, the personal foundation needed to understand his life and identity as a Cuban American." --Latinopia

About the Author

Phillippe Diederich is a Haitian-American writer and photographer born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Mexico City and Miami. His non-fiction has been published in the Traveler’s Tales Anthology, Cuba; Cigar Aficionado; The Miami New Times; The Dallas Morning News and Sarasota Magazine.
His short story, “The Falling” was awarded the 2013 Chris O’Malley prize in fiction from the Madison Review. He has received an Association of Writing Programs Intro Journal Award for fiction, and the Gulf Coast Creative Writing Conference Award for fiction. His stories have appeared in Quarterly West, Frostwriting, High Desert Journal, Sheepshead Review, Burrow Press Review, The Madison Review, and Hobart.
He is the author of Communism and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an e-Book that includes forty black and white photographs of Cuban Harley-Davidson bikers in Havana, Cuba.