Three things I loved about The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Everything I love, but in book form. Read the ReviewMy one line review of The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan in my last newsletter (when I had just started) was simply “everything I love, but in book form”. Now that I have finished the book I can confidently stand by that opinion. I loved this book.
What’s it about?
This is a book I wish I had written. It is the story of four women competing in a MasterChef-style cookery competition during WWII where they have to create dishes using wartime rations to inspire the housewives of Britain who listen to the popular radio program ‘The Kitchen Front’. The prize they are all vying for is a job as co-host of the program.
There’s Audrey, the farming, pie-making, mother of three sons struggling to make ends meet whose husband died flying with the RAF; Lady Gwendolyn, who is trying to distract herself from her unhappy marriage; Zelda, the unmarried but pregnant Cordon bleu chef desperate to get back into a five-star kitchen; and finally Nell, the house maid and cook at Lady Gwendolyn‘s Fenley Hall. The women are brought together by unexpected circumstances and end up forming an unlikely four-way friendship.
This book is written with so much foodish flair and thorough research into food history that I simply couldn’t put it down.
Here are the three things I loved:
1 – A deep love of cookery
Ryan wrote with a deep appreciation of the cooking process. I don’t know if Ryan is a cook herself, but kind of like the way Jon Favreau learned to cook from chef Roy Choi to get the cooking scenes just right in his movie Chef, Ryan writes clarity and authenticity about the process. The book takes you right into the kitchen and involves you in the cooking process for each of the characters.
2 – Compelling characters who I immediately fell for
Strong female friendships are at the heart of this book. My copy of this book has a quote from Cathy Kelly blazoned across the front that says “the great British bake off set in World War II”. She described it as “a warm hug of a novel”. I actually can’t think of a better way to say it. I loved the people in it and the way their relationships developed.
3 – The recipes
I am a sucker for a book that uses recipes to augment the rest of the content. This book does that so well, with modern, cookable recipes interspersed throughout. You can cook your own version of every dish in the book, from spam and wood pigeon pie to chicken cacciatore, fruit scones or even a flourless chocolate cake.
Romance Rating: This book certainly pulled at my heart, but romance wasn’t a big part of it. It gets 3 out of 5 love hearts for the sweet romance between a maid and an Italian POW.
I’m excited to give away this book in my March 2022 newsletter, so sign up below if you’d like to be in the running!