Millie and the Kitchen Witch - by Hillary Vaillancourt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Growing up in the Kitchen Witch Diner, twelve-year-old Millie Radford is close to the farmers, growers, and producers of Coal Hollow, Virginia that help supply her family's diner with ingredients. They are life-long friends and cherished neighbors.

But, when a big peanut company starts industrializing the area and monopolizing peanut processing, small farmers can't compete and begin going out of business. The entire region experiences the negative economic consequences, including Millie's beloved Kitchen Witch Diner.

Millie hopes winning an annual baking contest will help bring notoriety and customers to the struggling diner like it does every year. This year more than any other, the Kitchen Witch needs the boost in sales. It should be an easy win.

Instead, Millie finds herself having real competition this year from Nicole Johnson, the daughter of the peanut tycoon and a past winner of a televised national baking show.

When things don't go as planned, Millie decides to use the opportunity she's been given to highlight local food in Coal Hollow. If she can showcase the farmers and producers in her beloved community in addition to the diner, they may all stand a chance at saving their community.