By Jamie Baker. Paperback. 368 pages. 
 
You Ate It is a 4th wall, 5 course, 100 song story about big ideas, boy geniuses, girls of every persuasion, vineyards, pot farms, magical restaurants, sex and death, and coming to terms with one's gullibility. It will make your mind swirl, your heart hurt and your belly wanting more.
 
Taking place in the Santa Ynez Valley, a haven and heaven to so many, an eccentric group of friends, artists and chefs come together to create the experience of building dreams.
 
The story is about Michael, who at the age of 15 has an idea that changes the world. This revelation leads him to a corner office in Silicon Valley, a bank account near a billion, and being considered a very lucky man. But, at the age of 27, sitting in his office, he sees on his computer screen a school shooting where his pregnant wife is being murdered. Some years later, finished with the tech world and big ideas, Michael reinvents himself as a chef and falls in love with an incredible woman. Along with his daughter, they move to the Central Coast of California where they form a new family and open a restaurant called The Pretentious Boar & Ale House.