You know what they say about plans? Sometimes, the best ones don’t work out. Suzume ended up going to Japan as a maid-in-training, but instead of it being a short stay, it might be for over a year — the mansion in Britain was destroyed. So she’s been told by her master to stay in Japan. The problem of course is she’s all alone — so what does she do to fit in while in Japan? Well, check out all of their cuisines! So follow along as Suzume the maid digs in to Japan’s many treats!
No seriously, that is all The Food Diary of Miss Maid is about. Suzume is your typical cute girl maid for who I’ll assume is a rich big shot in Britain, but with only her grandma nearby, a small apartment space, and some cursory funds (?), she just plans to tackle her tasks with gusto, whether clumsily (see: how she eats taiyaki) or sweetly (how she cooks and then eats fava beans). Due to the chapters being fairly short, the passage of time is unknown — so in theory, we may never know how long she’s been in Japan unless she says so. The manga probably will mention this at some point, but right now the major appeal is Suzume’s adorable reactions to eating different types of food and the people’s reactions to a maid just walking around the area.
…Which, to this series credit, is very cute. Needless to say you’ll run through a gamut of Suzume faces as she stuffs her cheeks with all sorts of foods, all of them good to her, and you can’t help but smile along as she eats what she wants. The bigger appeal is how the characters around her react to her presence, as she comes across to them as cute, out of place, and friendly. For example, Suzume ends up befriending her next-door neighbor due to an awkward first meeting (and eventually Suzume eating baumkuchen). Then randomly she ends up making friends with a tough-looking gangster dude who had something in mind when placing cardboard on the floor.
And all of these moments are very sweet. Whether she’s drinking something new or trying out a new food, Suzume’s passion for eating is nice to read. That does also mean it can veer into mundane territory, but for the most part it makes The Food Diary of Miss Maid a lovely, chill read. There are still things I’d love to know regarding Suzume and her master — we do get some brief pages involving him, and we might get a new character to tag team with Suzume in her culinary eats with the introduction of Ricotta — but for now, this manga is a nice, relaxing time, and a good pick up for those in need of something light and fluffy that also involves lots of food.
