The Kitchen Front

I’m a huge fan of WWII historical fiction, and have been reading it for over 20 years. Therefore, it is always a ray of sunshine when an author takes a different look at this time period. In The Kitchen Front, Jennifer Ryan brings the lives of everyday women to the forefront along with the hardships and losses they endure, and how sometimes friends become family.

Two years into WW2, Britain is feeling her losses; the Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is putting on a cooking contest--and the grand prize is a job as the program's first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the contest presents a crucial chance to change their lives.

For a young widow, it's a chance to pay off her husband's debts and keep a roof over her children's heads. For a kitchen maid, it's a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For the lady of the manor, it's a chance to escape her wealthy husband's increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it's a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.

These four women are giving the competition their all--even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together serve only to break it apart?

I’m a huge fan of cooking competition shows, so The Kitchen Front was a story that had me engrossed and engaged from the beginning. I loved Ryan’s ability to bring the past to life with a lively and diverse cast of characters. I especially loved seeing old recipes incorporated into the story, and reading about the cleaver techniques developed to create “mock” foods and create substitutes for limited rationed foods. It took a lot of ingenuity to come up with creative and tasteful recipes all while rationing food items.

The real life and entertainment of the entire story is the spectacular character building and give-and-take between the four contestants. Personally, I was moved by it while rooting for each of the characters. I knew only one could win, but I was really there in spirit for all of them. As the story progresses I got to see how each woman is strong in her own way, whether or not they recognize it in themselves. I really loved the richness of each woman’s story and the challenges they overcame.

Possibly my favorite part of this book was the way the author painted a picture of community in a small English village during the war. There is something heartwarming and touching about neighbors, broken families, friends and even rivals banding together during hard and stressful times. I gained a whole new level of respect for those left at home during the war years. Everyone came together and tirelessly put their best faces on and plowed forward through each and every day's challenges (Keep Calm and Carry On).

I’m very appreciative to all the amazing research and detail Ryan put into this book. I learned so much all while finding myself thoroughly engaged in the lives of the characters and events of the story. Not many authors can pull this off, and Ryan did so with ease and finesse. This story truly brings home the efforts and sacrifices of those at home, and how they did their best to support the war efforts.

Overall, this book is witty, fun, and enlightening. I highly recommend The Kitchen Front for lovers of powerful and intelligent female characters, strong friendships and communities, historical fiction and cooking shows.