Salt Fat Acid Magic [Nom-Fiction | Food Fights | Culinary Academy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Kent family name used to mean something. In a world of food-themed magic, the Kents ranked among the top Chefs. They used their magic to conquer kitchen and wilderness alike, becoming legends of cooking and combat.

But after two generations of failure, the name is a relic of the past. Now Archie Kent, on the eve of his eighteenth birthday, has one last chance to manifest magical abilities in the hope of attending the prestigious Academy of Ambrosia and restoring his family name.

Today is the Festival of Ambrosia, and it’s Archie’s turn in the kitchen…

SALT FAT ACID MAGICis a six-book series that encompasses all of life. There will be cozy moments spent with friends in the lounge. There will be moments filled with the exhilaration of the battle for survival. There will be moments of sadness spent at the grave when that battle is lost. As the story goes on, readers will look back at the heartwarming, slice-of-life moments of the first few books and wish for those happier times. But even in the worst of times, there is joy to be found.

Book one will be told primarily through one POV, after which there will be two other major POV characters. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: fondour (T. J. Campbell)

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 1,365
Views: 397,071

Chapters(176 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

theLegionWithinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've had this story bookmarked for a while now - like a Glutton, I prefer to consume a story in large bites, reading 30+ chapters in a sitting... I dont like reading one or two chapters a week.
I've really enjoyed the story so far - it's well written, has good grammar, there are very few spelling mistakes and it has really eggcellent worldbuilding ;)
keep up the good work!
Arun17Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story! The characters have depth, and the plot is interesting and well-developed. The prose is excellent and reads as a polished, professionally edited novel. I particularly like how well the author conveys emotion through their writing e.g. Chapter 30 (Feeling Julienned) and Chapter 37 (Winter's Blossom) - both only on Patreon at the moment.
Highly recommend this story! It's well worth a read.
lordnikelasRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a sparkly, brand new fantasy story that's aiming for a narrow genre valley in between the food and magic genres. You can see the inspiration from Food Network shows, as well as cooking anime like Food Wars, though there's also a quick dip early on into magical combat, which feels way more like Toriko (and a few other elements that remind me of that story as well.)
Setting: Fantasy, middling tech level; as is mentioned in the notes, cooking academy stories get tricky if you don't have access to some kind of refrigeration or preservation system. MC's from the boonies at the edge of the country. No mention of monsters yet, but there's some big lizards that can block roads.
Magic systems: Chefs can perform culinary works beyond the comprehension of mortal men. (In the first chapter, we get to see a dessert(?) that shows you your deepest desire.) Also, crab punch? Also, if you get too fat, you get the Magical Power of Hunger.
Worth keeping an eye on, and might go some interesting directions. Good if you liked cooking mangas like Yakitate Japan, Food Wars or Toriko.
AmateurHourRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Eschewing the standard ingredients found in Royal Road, Salt Fat Acid Magic presents a fresh fusion cuisine of culinary cultivation and magic academies.
Ok, that's enough food puns
Style and Grammar
Clean grammar and easy to follow prose, helped along by evocative descriptions where it's really needed (the food and restaurants). Chapters are meaty enough that I have some concerns about the author being able to keep dishing them out as often as they have.
Story
An excellent set up so far, the greater scope of things presents a world shaped by the idea of magic cooking, the microcosm of the school setting is well fleshed out and doesn't feel like a copycat of any other Academy of Adventure, and there is a nice blend of personal stakes / interpersonal drama and hints of existential threats simmering underneath. Spicing up the Light Novel academy setting, some Realpolitik is brewing, and given the MCs connections will likely be a focal point eventually.
Characters
The author has done a great job of writing a bunch of teenagers, many with large legacies or hopes behind them, in a pressure cooker environment. That is to say, you'll be simulatiously rooting for them and tearing your hair out.
(Ok, there were a few more food puns)
Seiryuu015Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Love to find food based stories as they always come up with the coolest things when it comes to the food. Can’t wait to see where these story goes once they learn how to battle with food. Loved the fact that the main character is an underdog and that the first “magical” food he made was something so simple.
aWeaklingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Reading this has been a pleasure. Really enjoying the integration of cooking and magic. Characters come across as genuine with their own motivations. Culture and naming conventions add a unique flavor to the world. I look forward to seeing many new dishes and explore different fields of cooking!
For those bugged by poor editing, there are no notable typos.
jollychairRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is an entertaining read with a fresh approach to magic, done in a way that adds a cartoonish flair to the story, aiding in the ability of the reader to suspend disbelief and enjoy the colorful and fun world building. The chapters that I have read so far (about 30) have done a good job introducing the world and teasing around the myriad ways with which magic can be used within it. There are multiple characters, each with their own niche personalities, and room to throw them together to add further depth. So far, the magic used by the MC is fairly limited, and the magic feels like more of a supportive element than a primary focus, with most of the action being centered around interpersonal student drama. I would love to see a shift deeper into the magic, with more exploration and experimentation by the MC, as I think the magic is really the key ingredient in this dish that makes it rise above the rest.
Grammar is good enough that I am not being pulled out of the story due to mistakes, which I really appreciate. The descriptions have been helpful in visualizing the colorful/cartoonish world, and I think the stage is set for some really interesting (I hope!) developments to come. I have done very little skimming of content, though it has happened a few times as I look for the meat of a chapter. The supporting characters are largely one dimensional for now, though we are starting to dive a bit deeper into some of them, which is great to see.
Some things are touched on at a few points in the story, but then they are kind of left dangling. I assume they will come around again, but will have to wait and see. (More details in spoiler)
- the shapeshifting tool that Archie's dad may have spent way too much money on
- Rowan, Archie's sponsor (we have very little interaction on screen, making Rowan feel like a stranger and the time spent at the gift seem unimportant)
- The weird magical injury that Archie receives. He gets some healing, but otherwise appears to hav
kombinerkaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I can’t remember the last time a novel hooked me this much. Sure, I have an affinity for fantasy and cooking, but the world told in Salt Fat Acid Magic is just so rich—you can almost taste it. :)
The series starts off super cozy as we slowly learn about the intricacies of the world and get to know the main cast. Everyone has their own quirks, from small tics when concentrating to full-blown missions and ambitions. The author takes you on a wonderful journey of ups and downs, seen through the eyes of very different people who have the special gift of being a chef.
The quality of the writing is a joy to see, too. Even though I binged everything in a few days like a proper glutton, I kept wanting more—the story didn’t feel dragged out or lost at any point. All the places or feelings/moments that are called for have their callback with time, instead of just being mentioned and forgotten, resulting in “person A went to place B to do X.”
Anyhow, tl;dr: the story is rich and memorable; the magic system is interesting and rooted in the mundane, but taken to the next level at every occasion. Villains—oh, the villains—you love to hate them, and rightfully so! The story was a rollercoaster, and I can’t wait to be taken on the ride again in the future.
Big thank you to the author and everyone involved—and to you, the review reader: I wish you an amazing and delicious read, which I’m sure you’ll have!
SapphierreRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story was a very fun and chaoic journey. I truly enjoyed the story and all it's ups and downs. I encourage you to just read it. There are times you will be happy, sad and just plain frustrated. But I feel that's what makes it engaging. Looking forward to the second book. Thank you.
(The half star off is for no reason. It deserves the top but some people don't like reading perfect reviews.)
SkelletRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I really liked this! I do experiment with food a lot on my own time. Combining food and magic so intrinsically is a very cool concept that makes me want to experiment and think about things I would like to cook. A plant that grows Meat! Extra pasta limbs! Endless possibilities!
The story is neat too ^^