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The Kitchen Front
In a new World War II-set story from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, four women compete for a spot hosting a wartime cookery program called The Kitchen Front - based on the actual BBC program of the same name - as well as a chance to better their lives.
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?
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?
408 pages, Hardcover
First published February 23, 2021
2695 people are currently reading
42656 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Ryan
6 books2,549 followersJennifer grew up in the British countryside with a penchant for climbing trees and a wonderful grandmother who told her hilarious stories about the Second World War.
As an adult, she became a nonfiction book editor, first editing politics and economics at The Economist Books, and then moving on to the BBC, DK, and other publishers, editing books on health, cooking, wine, and history.
All this time, though, she harbored a longing to share her grandmother's stories about the war, and so she embarked on an MA in fiction at Johns Hopkins University. The novel that she wrote while there--The Chilbury Ladies' Choir--became a National Bestseller.
Please visit Jennifer's website for more information and free giveaways.
www.JenniferRyanAuthor.com
As an adult, she became a nonfiction book editor, first editing politics and economics at The Economist Books, and then moving on to the BBC, DK, and other publishers, editing books on health, cooking, wine, and history.
All this time, though, she harbored a longing to share her grandmother's stories about the war, and so she embarked on an MA in fiction at Johns Hopkins University. The novel that she wrote while there--The Chilbury Ladies' Choir--became a National Bestseller.
Please visit Jennifer's website for more information and free giveaways.
www.JenniferRyanAuthor.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,701 reviews
May 24, 2022
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan, Jasmine Blackborow (Narrator)
I'm always amazed at how the people left on the home front of wars keep life going when home is sometimes even a part of the war. In Fenley Village, England, 1942 we meet four very different women who are desperate to not continue the way things are going for them. When a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front, hosted by cuisine expert, Ambrose Hart, runs a contest for a co-host for his program, each of these women set their hopes on winning.
Audrey is a wartime widow and her grief is almost a weight she can't carry. If it wasn't for her three boys and the fact that she is so busy trying to keep the family in her childhood home that she is on the verge of losing, Audrey might not even be able to get out of bed in the morning. She earns much needed money by selling her pies and other creations despite how hard it is to get ingredients due to rationing. Her days and nights are filled with gardening, searching ingredients in the wild, cooking, baking, and raising her three boys. To make matters worse, her mortgage is held by the stingy, wealthy husband of her estranged sister and they would love nothing more than to get her ramshackle house our from under her.
Gwendoline, Audrey's sister, loves her status that puts her above most women in the village. She is married to Sir Strickland who has his hands a variety of important government contracts. You'd hardly know a war is on since Sir Strickland bypasses any restrictions to live and entertain lavishly. But his wife has lost her glow, he considers her stupid and a big marriage mistake and Gwendoline doesn't know if she can go on walking on eggshells waiting to find the next way she has failed him.
Nell is a young kitchen maid, assistant to the head kitchen maid, old Mrs. Quince. Like a mother to Nell, Mrs. Quince has taught Nell all she knows about cooking and running a kitchen and with Mrs. Quince's encouragement and support, Nell enters the contest. She has no other way of ever getting out of her servant's life unless she can win this contest and make a name for herself with her cooking.
Zelda carries herself like a lady and has worked hard to pull herself out of poverty and being on her own since she was twelve years old. She's perfected her cooking skills and has worked as an assistant chef, knowing that someday she will be a famed head chef, if she can just keep on working hard at what she does best. But then she falls for a cad, a liar and a conman, and gets pregnant. She won't be able to find employment pregnant or as a single mother so she escapes London until after she has and gives up the baby. Winning the contest will give her the fame she needs to be a head chef at a fine London restaurant someday.
Entering this contest brings these women together as rivals and each of them must win to be able to move on from their sad states. But the contest brings these women together in other ways that they could never have expected. I was especially hoping Audrey or Nell would win the contest but as the story proceeds, it's hard not to want better for Gwendoline and Zelda, too, despite their selfish natures. Through the cooking of all four women we see how they can make a feast out of the least likely ingredients, some of them stomach churning and appalling. I didn't expect to enjoy the cooking portion of the story so much but the ingenuity of the recipes amazed me. In the afterward of the book, I learned that rationing in the United Kingdom lasted until 1954 so dealing with limited ingredients was a way of life for a very long time.
Pub February 23, 2021 by Random House Audio
I'm always amazed at how the people left on the home front of wars keep life going when home is sometimes even a part of the war. In Fenley Village, England, 1942 we meet four very different women who are desperate to not continue the way things are going for them. When a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front, hosted by cuisine expert, Ambrose Hart, runs a contest for a co-host for his program, each of these women set their hopes on winning.
Audrey is a wartime widow and her grief is almost a weight she can't carry. If it wasn't for her three boys and the fact that she is so busy trying to keep the family in her childhood home that she is on the verge of losing, Audrey might not even be able to get out of bed in the morning. She earns much needed money by selling her pies and other creations despite how hard it is to get ingredients due to rationing. Her days and nights are filled with gardening, searching ingredients in the wild, cooking, baking, and raising her three boys. To make matters worse, her mortgage is held by the stingy, wealthy husband of her estranged sister and they would love nothing more than to get her ramshackle house our from under her.
Gwendoline, Audrey's sister, loves her status that puts her above most women in the village. She is married to Sir Strickland who has his hands a variety of important government contracts. You'd hardly know a war is on since Sir Strickland bypasses any restrictions to live and entertain lavishly. But his wife has lost her glow, he considers her stupid and a big marriage mistake and Gwendoline doesn't know if she can go on walking on eggshells waiting to find the next way she has failed him.
Nell is a young kitchen maid, assistant to the head kitchen maid, old Mrs. Quince. Like a mother to Nell, Mrs. Quince has taught Nell all she knows about cooking and running a kitchen and with Mrs. Quince's encouragement and support, Nell enters the contest. She has no other way of ever getting out of her servant's life unless she can win this contest and make a name for herself with her cooking.
Zelda carries herself like a lady and has worked hard to pull herself out of poverty and being on her own since she was twelve years old. She's perfected her cooking skills and has worked as an assistant chef, knowing that someday she will be a famed head chef, if she can just keep on working hard at what she does best. But then she falls for a cad, a liar and a conman, and gets pregnant. She won't be able to find employment pregnant or as a single mother so she escapes London until after she has and gives up the baby. Winning the contest will give her the fame she needs to be a head chef at a fine London restaurant someday.
Entering this contest brings these women together as rivals and each of them must win to be able to move on from their sad states. But the contest brings these women together in other ways that they could never have expected. I was especially hoping Audrey or Nell would win the contest but as the story proceeds, it's hard not to want better for Gwendoline and Zelda, too, despite their selfish natures. Through the cooking of all four women we see how they can make a feast out of the least likely ingredients, some of them stomach churning and appalling. I didn't expect to enjoy the cooking portion of the story so much but the ingenuity of the recipes amazed me. In the afterward of the book, I learned that rationing in the United Kingdom lasted until 1954 so dealing with limited ingredients was a way of life for a very long time.
Pub February 23, 2021 by Random House Audio
January 10, 2021
4 shining stars for a heartwarming story of tragedy and friendship set in WWII England. This historical fiction book is about a BBC radio program called "The Kitchen Front" and a cooking contest sponsored by this program. The contest is held to promote ways to to create dishes based on rationed foods. There was an actual "Kitchen Front" BBC radio program during WWII.
Four women enter the contest:
Audrey: a wartime widow with 3 children, who is frantically trying to make enough money to feed, clothe and shelter herself and 3 children.
Lady Gwendoline Strickland: She married an older, rich man and wants to become a radio presenter on the BBC program.
Nell: kitchen maid/assistant cook for the Strickland manor.
Zelda: A unmarried, pregnant,out of work London chef. Her lover is a thief and conman.
Gwendoline and Audrey are estranged sisters. Gwendoline is still bitter because of their mother's favoritism towards Audrey. Audrey inherited the family home and Gwendoline was left nothing. She married Sir Strickland because he was rich and had just received a Knighthood, entitling him to be addressed as Sir Strickland. He then encouraged her to call herself Lady Gwendoline.
Nell is assisted by Mrs. Quince, the head cook at Strickland Manor.
This book has all the ingredients of wartime England: Rationing, crooked black markets, boarders being forced upon people by Wartime Billeting Offices and prisoners of war laborers.
How these 4 women interact and compete makes for a pleasant story. My wife read this book before me and also rates it an easy 4 stars. She liked the ending.
Two quotes: "Lady Gwendoline was notorious in the village for two things. The first was roping people into doing things they didn't want to , like helping her at her cooking demonstrations or giving up their spare rooms to evacuees and wartime workers. The second was concluding every conversation she had with some kind of gossipy criticism, such as Mrs. Quince's ever increasing girth or the vicar's drink problem."
Nell on meeting a handsome Italian POW: "And as they knelt, gazing at each other, it was if two magical threads, as fine as spider's silk, had connected them, drawing them together like they were magnetized by the sun and moon above.'
Thanks to Ballantine Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
Four women enter the contest:
Audrey: a wartime widow with 3 children, who is frantically trying to make enough money to feed, clothe and shelter herself and 3 children.
Lady Gwendoline Strickland: She married an older, rich man and wants to become a radio presenter on the BBC program.
Nell: kitchen maid/assistant cook for the Strickland manor.
Zelda: A unmarried, pregnant,out of work London chef. Her lover is a thief and conman.
Gwendoline and Audrey are estranged sisters. Gwendoline is still bitter because of their mother's favoritism towards Audrey. Audrey inherited the family home and Gwendoline was left nothing. She married Sir Strickland because he was rich and had just received a Knighthood, entitling him to be addressed as Sir Strickland. He then encouraged her to call herself Lady Gwendoline.
Nell is assisted by Mrs. Quince, the head cook at Strickland Manor.
This book has all the ingredients of wartime England: Rationing, crooked black markets, boarders being forced upon people by Wartime Billeting Offices and prisoners of war laborers.
How these 4 women interact and compete makes for a pleasant story. My wife read this book before me and also rates it an easy 4 stars. She liked the ending.
Two quotes: "Lady Gwendoline was notorious in the village for two things. The first was roping people into doing things they didn't want to , like helping her at her cooking demonstrations or giving up their spare rooms to evacuees and wartime workers. The second was concluding every conversation she had with some kind of gossipy criticism, such as Mrs. Quince's ever increasing girth or the vicar's drink problem."
Nell on meeting a handsome Italian POW: "And as they knelt, gazing at each other, it was if two magical threads, as fine as spider's silk, had connected them, drawing them together like they were magnetized by the sun and moon above.'
Thanks to Ballantine Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
December 1, 2020
"Food rationing in Britain began in 1940...During the war, a wealth of culinary tips, techniques, and quick fixes helped housewives and cooks with rationing problems".
"The 1940's Experiment
Frugal Wartime Recipes to See You Through Challenging Times!"
"Bubble and Squeak-No-78-The 1940's Experiment
Bubble and Squeak was typically a dish used to use up leftovers. There is no right way to cook it except that it has to have mash potato in it (it holds together all the leftover veggies) and you fry it in a pan until it just starts to brown on the edges. Cabbage seems to be a popular ingredient...as does onion...leftover diced sausage or bacon (or vegan alternative). The "squeak" gets its name from the squeaking sounds emitted as the mash and vegetables are pushed down with a spatula to brown in the hot frying pan".
Established in 1940, the BBC radio program The Kitchen Front was "a daily show sharing wartime recipes and cooking tips with housewives and cooks". Contests, popular in WW II Britain, provided "free entertainment-diverting minds and spirits away from the horrors of war". The producers in charge of the Kitchen Front determined that the show needed a woman's touch to co-present, along with regular presenter Ambrose Hart. The goal was to share recipes and cooking tips to manage rations while 'making do' and 'waiting' for those fighting at the front to return home. "A wartime cooking challenge... [to] raise morale and give the papers something good to write instead of all the battles we are losing". A local contest in Fenley, 15 miles south of London, drew four competitors. Each contestant would have to present a starter, a main course and a dessert. The winner would join Ambrose Hart on the radio show. Who were the contestants?
Mrs. Audrey Landon, widow, lived in a dilapidated mansion with a roof in ill repair. Her debts were massive. Clothed in a man's sweater tucked into man's trousers, often in muddy boots from gardening, she baked...cakes and pies, earning extra pennies to support her three sons. Lady Gwendoline Strickland, Audrey's younger sister, was prim, smug and self-important. She "...yearned to be adopted into the higher circles...had joined the ranks of posh home economists to boost her status.." Her husband's influence had landed her the position of Fenley's billeting officer....his motto...rules are for fools". Nell Brown, an orphan, was mentored by Mrs. Quince, the manor house cook at Fenley Hall. According to Mrs. Quince, Nell has a "keen perception for taste..." Mrs. Quince wanted to "train her up". "I've always fancied becoming a Land Girl [says Nell] it's hard work, farming, but it would be nice to be outside, back with nature". Miss Zelda Dupont, a deputy head chef in London was now forced to go to a local conscription office. She needed an urgent evacuee spot near her assigned job at the Fenley Pie Factory. "She loathed being here...in the country with these simpletons". Unfortunately, she had to hide her pregnancy to participate in the cook-off as well as keep her job.
"Winning the war isn't only about young men fighting on the frontline. it's about the homefront, too, and how we can stay strong for them through all the shortages and rationing". "The Kitchen Front" by Jennifer Ryan introduces the reader to a well detailed ensemble of characters, especially a group of determined, competitive and resourceful women. Author Ryan sheds light on rationing, billeting of evacuees, women's conscription, the plight of the unwed mother, Land Girls, POW's as farm workers and the dreaded "telegram". This captivating work of historical fiction is highly recommended.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"The 1940's Experiment
Frugal Wartime Recipes to See You Through Challenging Times!"
"Bubble and Squeak-No-78-The 1940's Experiment
Bubble and Squeak was typically a dish used to use up leftovers. There is no right way to cook it except that it has to have mash potato in it (it holds together all the leftover veggies) and you fry it in a pan until it just starts to brown on the edges. Cabbage seems to be a popular ingredient...as does onion...leftover diced sausage or bacon (or vegan alternative). The "squeak" gets its name from the squeaking sounds emitted as the mash and vegetables are pushed down with a spatula to brown in the hot frying pan".
Established in 1940, the BBC radio program The Kitchen Front was "a daily show sharing wartime recipes and cooking tips with housewives and cooks". Contests, popular in WW II Britain, provided "free entertainment-diverting minds and spirits away from the horrors of war". The producers in charge of the Kitchen Front determined that the show needed a woman's touch to co-present, along with regular presenter Ambrose Hart. The goal was to share recipes and cooking tips to manage rations while 'making do' and 'waiting' for those fighting at the front to return home. "A wartime cooking challenge... [to] raise morale and give the papers something good to write instead of all the battles we are losing". A local contest in Fenley, 15 miles south of London, drew four competitors. Each contestant would have to present a starter, a main course and a dessert. The winner would join Ambrose Hart on the radio show. Who were the contestants?
Mrs. Audrey Landon, widow, lived in a dilapidated mansion with a roof in ill repair. Her debts were massive. Clothed in a man's sweater tucked into man's trousers, often in muddy boots from gardening, she baked...cakes and pies, earning extra pennies to support her three sons. Lady Gwendoline Strickland, Audrey's younger sister, was prim, smug and self-important. She "...yearned to be adopted into the higher circles...had joined the ranks of posh home economists to boost her status.." Her husband's influence had landed her the position of Fenley's billeting officer....his motto...rules are for fools". Nell Brown, an orphan, was mentored by Mrs. Quince, the manor house cook at Fenley Hall. According to Mrs. Quince, Nell has a "keen perception for taste..." Mrs. Quince wanted to "train her up". "I've always fancied becoming a Land Girl [says Nell] it's hard work, farming, but it would be nice to be outside, back with nature". Miss Zelda Dupont, a deputy head chef in London was now forced to go to a local conscription office. She needed an urgent evacuee spot near her assigned job at the Fenley Pie Factory. "She loathed being here...in the country with these simpletons". Unfortunately, she had to hide her pregnancy to participate in the cook-off as well as keep her job.
"Winning the war isn't only about young men fighting on the frontline. it's about the homefront, too, and how we can stay strong for them through all the shortages and rationing". "The Kitchen Front" by Jennifer Ryan introduces the reader to a well detailed ensemble of characters, especially a group of determined, competitive and resourceful women. Author Ryan sheds light on rationing, billeting of evacuees, women's conscription, the plight of the unwed mother, Land Girls, POW's as farm workers and the dreaded "telegram". This captivating work of historical fiction is highly recommended.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2022
After the wonderful The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, Jennifer Ryan returns with this captivating WW2 novel set in a Britain that is struggling and suffering terrible losses. The people are enduring hardships with food in short supply leading to rationing, that gives rise to corruption, bartering and black markets. In an effort to help nutritional cooking, the BBC's programme, The Kitchen Front, presented by Ambrose Hart, is seeking a woman to provide advice and co-present. To this end, a cooking competition has been organised, with 4 women coming up with recipes of rationing ingredients to support housewives. All the women are desperate to win for different reasons, Audrey is a grieving widow, having lost her artistic husband, Matthew, in the war, left alone to care for her 3 sons, working all the hours trying to keep their ramshackle home, Willow Lodge, with its leaking roof by cooking pies and other foods for businesses and the community.
Lady Gwendoline lives at Fenley Hall, is Audrey's estranged sister, married to the wealthy Sir Reginald, a despicable man who believes, much like a certain prime minister, that 'Rules are for fools'. She is seeking to establish her presence in the community and the higher echelons of society, willing to do whatever it takes to win, and is currently the local billeting officer. She is not a pleasant character, treating people badly, including her current kitchen maid, Nell Brown, overworking her and showing nothing in the way of appreciation. Nell is another competition participant, who has flourished as a cook, mentored by Mrs Quince, she was raised in an orphanage, and plagued by low self esteem, lacking the confidence to talk in public. Ex-hotel chef Zelda Dupont knew nothing but hard times growing up, and has to fight to be recognised as a talented chef in a male dominated world. She is trying to keep a secret that threatens to destroy all her ambitions.
The challenges and demons the women face are far too much for them to handle by themselves, and slowly but surely, they come to see each other beyond the superficial, exposing their past, their vulnerabilities, tragedies, pain and pressures. As a result, they become their own support network, establishing a tight knit friendship group that goes over and beyond to address the troubles confronting them. Ryan does a stellar job in atmospherically evoking wartime Britain, her great characters had me immersed in the riveting story from beginning to end, and I appreciated the recipes in the book, including the surprising Whalemeat and Mushroom Pie. This is a fabulous piece of warm hearted historical fiction that I think so many other readers will enjoy. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Lady Gwendoline lives at Fenley Hall, is Audrey's estranged sister, married to the wealthy Sir Reginald, a despicable man who believes, much like a certain prime minister, that 'Rules are for fools'. She is seeking to establish her presence in the community and the higher echelons of society, willing to do whatever it takes to win, and is currently the local billeting officer. She is not a pleasant character, treating people badly, including her current kitchen maid, Nell Brown, overworking her and showing nothing in the way of appreciation. Nell is another competition participant, who has flourished as a cook, mentored by Mrs Quince, she was raised in an orphanage, and plagued by low self esteem, lacking the confidence to talk in public. Ex-hotel chef Zelda Dupont knew nothing but hard times growing up, and has to fight to be recognised as a talented chef in a male dominated world. She is trying to keep a secret that threatens to destroy all her ambitions.
The challenges and demons the women face are far too much for them to handle by themselves, and slowly but surely, they come to see each other beyond the superficial, exposing their past, their vulnerabilities, tragedies, pain and pressures. As a result, they become their own support network, establishing a tight knit friendship group that goes over and beyond to address the troubles confronting them. Ryan does a stellar job in atmospherically evoking wartime Britain, her great characters had me immersed in the riveting story from beginning to end, and I appreciated the recipes in the book, including the surprising Whalemeat and Mushroom Pie. This is a fabulous piece of warm hearted historical fiction that I think so many other readers will enjoy. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
January 25, 2022
I generally enjoy reading historical fiction and Goodreads ratings and reviews for The Kitchen Front were enthusiastic (almost all 4 and 5 stars!) so I thought I might be on to a winner. Sadly, now that I’ve read it, I just feel duped. I’m posting this so that there is, at least, one truthful review on here. It’s the review that I wish I had read before purchasing.
The premise of the book is interesting enough but the characters are one-dimensional, the plot lines are completely predictable, and it is both heavy-handed and overly-sentimental. It feels like a read for a 12 year old rather than an adult. Utter treacle.
Now...I know that some people like a sappy, easy to read book and if that’s you then I heartily recommend this book to you but if you are looking for a well written piece of historical fiction, for grown-ups, I strongly advise you to look elsewhere.
The premise of the book is interesting enough but the characters are one-dimensional, the plot lines are completely predictable, and it is both heavy-handed and overly-sentimental. It feels like a read for a 12 year old rather than an adult. Utter treacle.
Now...I know that some people like a sappy, easy to read book and if that’s you then I heartily recommend this book to you but if you are looking for a well written piece of historical fiction, for grown-ups, I strongly advise you to look elsewhere.
February 12, 2023
The cooking contest and the authentic recipes tipped the scales in favor of five stars for me on this one. Although there are other home front issues, the need to feed your family good food in adequate amounts is the main focus. I loved reading about Audrey's garden and the way she talked to her bees. Also, her three boys were a delight and reminded me of my three. Gwendoline is an acquired taste, but does improve throughout. Zelda and Nell also have strong story lines of their own and their memories of past neglect clearly impact them as grown women. That gives a book group much to think about. It would be fun to try some of the recipes, although the whale meat pie would not be at the top of my list. Sounds a little stinky -- the sardine pastries as well.
Just read "The War Pianist" by Mandy Robotham and her main character was a production assistant for the BBC and worked on 'The Kitchen Front' program. Check it out!
Just read "The War Pianist" by Mandy Robotham and her main character was a production assistant for the BBC and worked on 'The Kitchen Front' program. Check it out!
August 20, 2022
This is a WWII Historical Fiction. This book is not like any other Historical Fiction I have read because this book focuses on the food shortage that is going on. I have to say I really wanted to love this book, but I felt we where following to many characters. This book we are following four women that are all in a competition to talk about food/cooking on BBC radio. Each chapter is told by a different one of the four women, and I found myself giving into one of the four women more then the other three. I wish this book was told by just one of the women, and the other three women where just side characters. I feel this book was jumpy and had to many main character with to much going on. I have to say I love the cover of this book, and I love that there is recipes for that time point mixed in this book. I receive an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
January 21, 2021
Thanks to PenguinRandomHouse who invited me to read this egalley on Netgalley and provide an honest review.
I am CONVINCED that no one writes homefront WWII fiction quite like Jennifer Ryan. Her female protagonists are stubborn, fiery-spirited and regularly take hold of my heart in the hours that I read of their lives. As four women square off in a cooking competition hosted by BBC radio, we examine the lives, the loves, and the determination of women to be seen and heard of in a time of war.
We have Audrey, mother of three rambunctious boys, struggling to keep the family afloat after her RAF husband is missing, presumed killed in action. The competition may be a way of securing her family's future. Her sister, Lady Gwendoline Strickland has risen to the ranks of the upper class, but her marriage is only a facade of happiness and she hopes the competition will bring honour to her husband's name. For Nell, the Strickland maid, the competition promises a future of freedom. Finally, for Zelda, an unmarried, pregnant London chief, the competition offers the chance of recognition in her field.
The book is full of tantalizing recipes and heartwarming moments. I cannot stop recommending it to others.
Goodreads review 21/01/21
Publication Date 23/02/21
#TheKitchenFront #NetGalley
I am CONVINCED that no one writes homefront WWII fiction quite like Jennifer Ryan. Her female protagonists are stubborn, fiery-spirited and regularly take hold of my heart in the hours that I read of their lives. As four women square off in a cooking competition hosted by BBC radio, we examine the lives, the loves, and the determination of women to be seen and heard of in a time of war.
We have Audrey, mother of three rambunctious boys, struggling to keep the family afloat after her RAF husband is missing, presumed killed in action. The competition may be a way of securing her family's future. Her sister, Lady Gwendoline Strickland has risen to the ranks of the upper class, but her marriage is only a facade of happiness and she hopes the competition will bring honour to her husband's name. For Nell, the Strickland maid, the competition promises a future of freedom. Finally, for Zelda, an unmarried, pregnant London chief, the competition offers the chance of recognition in her field.
The book is full of tantalizing recipes and heartwarming moments. I cannot stop recommending it to others.
Goodreads review 21/01/21
Publication Date 23/02/21
#TheKitchenFront #NetGalley
February 21, 2021
The Kitchen Front is a heartwarming story of four seemingly disparate women, living in a small village during WWII. Audrey Landon, a war widow, trying to make ends meet and raise her three sons; her sister Gwendoline who seems to have the perfect life and marriage, but is hiding a terrible secret; Nell Brown, an orphaned kitchen maid, dreaming of a different life; and Zelda Dupont, an unmarried, pregnant chef, struggling to achieve her goal of becoming a London chef despite the male-dominated, sexist world of London restaurants.
All four enter a cooking contest put on by the BBC program Kitchen Front, which served to provide Great Britain’s housewives with recipes and tips to help them deal with the massive food shortages the country experienced during the war. For the contest, each woman must make creative, nutritious, and delicious dishes using only rationed foods and what is readily available from local gardens and farms.
Before the contest is finished, Audrey, Gwendoline, Nell, and Zelda find themselves more friends than competitors. Each becoming aware of what the others are facing and finding that they are better together than apart.
This was a joy to read, with wonderful female characters and a very real sense of life in war-torn Britain. An uplifting story (with some delightful recipes thrown in) and a truly satisfying ending. This will appeal to fans of historical fiction, women’s fiction as well as those who love cooking contests (especially The Great British Baking Show). Bake yourself some scones, brew a pot of tea and curl up for an enjoyable escape.
Thank you to Ballantine Book and NetGalley for the eARC.
All four enter a cooking contest put on by the BBC program Kitchen Front, which served to provide Great Britain’s housewives with recipes and tips to help them deal with the massive food shortages the country experienced during the war. For the contest, each woman must make creative, nutritious, and delicious dishes using only rationed foods and what is readily available from local gardens and farms.
Before the contest is finished, Audrey, Gwendoline, Nell, and Zelda find themselves more friends than competitors. Each becoming aware of what the others are facing and finding that they are better together than apart.
This was a joy to read, with wonderful female characters and a very real sense of life in war-torn Britain. An uplifting story (with some delightful recipes thrown in) and a truly satisfying ending. This will appeal to fans of historical fiction, women’s fiction as well as those who love cooking contests (especially The Great British Baking Show). Bake yourself some scones, brew a pot of tea and curl up for an enjoyable escape.
Thank you to Ballantine Book and NetGalley for the eARC.
February 23, 2021
Now Available
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan is a pleasant story about a British cooking competition during World War II. The winner of the contest will be the co-presenter on the popular radio program known as The Kitchen Front. The current host, Ambrose Hart, will be the judge of the contestants from his hometown of Finley Village. The contest is held once a month in July (starter), August (main course), and September (dessert). The contestants must prepare the dish at home using only their own food rations. The dishes need to show ingenious use of the limited ingredients available to home cooks.
The contestants each have their own reason for wanting to win. Audrey is a war widow who is barely scraping by with a pie business. Her estranged sister, Lady Gwendoline, not only loves being in the spotlight but wants to please her controlling and demanding husband. Nell is a timid orphan who works for Lady Gwendoline, under the tutelage of her beloved mentor, Mrs. Quince. The fourth contestant is Zelda Dupont, a tough London chef who has been sent to the country due to a pregnancy she is trying to conceal. Zelda works at the Finley Pie Factory, owned by Gwendoline’s husband.
There is some cheating by a couple of the contestants, but Ambrose is quick to catch on. Over the months of the competition, the relationships between each of the women with the others changes. Each of them learns to overcome hardships. While only one of them wins the Kitchen Front contest, all of them end up winning in their own way.
Many of the chapters end with recipes. Some seem unpalatable, including sardine rolls and one with whale meat, but others such as mushroom soup and fruit scones look delicious. It is apparent the author carefully researched each recipe to make it appropriate for food rationing and local availability at the time of the contest.
3-stars. I enjoyed the book but didn’t love it. It was a nice way to pass a couple of winter days. I do think it would be a good book club selection with the topics of family, friendship, and overcoming hardships.
The expected publication is February 23, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The hardcover is 416 pages and is a fast, easy read.
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan is a pleasant story about a British cooking competition during World War II. The winner of the contest will be the co-presenter on the popular radio program known as The Kitchen Front. The current host, Ambrose Hart, will be the judge of the contestants from his hometown of Finley Village. The contest is held once a month in July (starter), August (main course), and September (dessert). The contestants must prepare the dish at home using only their own food rations. The dishes need to show ingenious use of the limited ingredients available to home cooks.
The contestants each have their own reason for wanting to win. Audrey is a war widow who is barely scraping by with a pie business. Her estranged sister, Lady Gwendoline, not only loves being in the spotlight but wants to please her controlling and demanding husband. Nell is a timid orphan who works for Lady Gwendoline, under the tutelage of her beloved mentor, Mrs. Quince. The fourth contestant is Zelda Dupont, a tough London chef who has been sent to the country due to a pregnancy she is trying to conceal. Zelda works at the Finley Pie Factory, owned by Gwendoline’s husband.
There is some cheating by a couple of the contestants, but Ambrose is quick to catch on. Over the months of the competition, the relationships between each of the women with the others changes. Each of them learns to overcome hardships. While only one of them wins the Kitchen Front contest, all of them end up winning in their own way.
Many of the chapters end with recipes. Some seem unpalatable, including sardine rolls and one with whale meat, but others such as mushroom soup and fruit scones look delicious. It is apparent the author carefully researched each recipe to make it appropriate for food rationing and local availability at the time of the contest.
3-stars. I enjoyed the book but didn’t love it. It was a nice way to pass a couple of winter days. I do think it would be a good book club selection with the topics of family, friendship, and overcoming hardships.
The expected publication is February 23, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The hardcover is 416 pages and is a fast, easy read.
August 8, 2021
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan was a feel good type of book. The characters were endearing, likable and most believable. Jennifer Ryan created strong female characters that I felt myself routing for through their various challenges. The transformation of one of the characters made a full circle and although I disliked her immensely in the beginning her new outlook made me change my feelings about her. It was brilliant how Jennifer Ryan worked the transformation of this character into her uplifting and well written book. I listened to the audiobook of The Kitchen Front and felt that it was very well narrated by Jasmine Blackborrow. The Kitchen Front was a very well written and researched historical fiction novel. This was my first novel that I have read by Jennifer Ryan but I hope to find time to read or listen to her previous ones sometime soon.
The Kitchen Front took place two years into World War II when women were practically deserted by all the men that went to serve in the war. It took place in a small rural town outside of London. The housewives of England were feeling the hardships of the war and the rationing that accompanied it. There was a BBC radio program that many of England’s women listened to called The Kitchen Front. The host of the radio program was commissioned to hold a cooking contest where the grand prize would make the winner the new female host of the program. There were four women who entered. Each had so much to gain if they won the contest. There was a widow, a kitchen maid, a Lady of the Manor and a trained chef. These four women had nothing to loose and everything to gain. The contest was conducted on three designated dates. Each time the contestant would be required to present her creation for that part of a meal describing its ingredients and how it was made. Each contestant had to use readily available ingredients that were either homemade, home grown or available through rations. The four women, although at odds with each other at the beginning, soon formed a bond that was as strong as members of a family.
I really loved The Kitchen Front. The characters stayed with me long after I finished listening to the audiobook. I did not know a lot about the hardships the women experienced during World War II with the dwindling and hard to get ration supplies. Apparently, there were many radio shows like The Kitchen Front and cooking contests during this time. What a clever way to boost morale among the women during that difficult time in history. I am so glad I finally got to read The Kitchen Front and highly recommend it.
The Kitchen Front took place two years into World War II when women were practically deserted by all the men that went to serve in the war. It took place in a small rural town outside of London. The housewives of England were feeling the hardships of the war and the rationing that accompanied it. There was a BBC radio program that many of England’s women listened to called The Kitchen Front. The host of the radio program was commissioned to hold a cooking contest where the grand prize would make the winner the new female host of the program. There were four women who entered. Each had so much to gain if they won the contest. There was a widow, a kitchen maid, a Lady of the Manor and a trained chef. These four women had nothing to loose and everything to gain. The contest was conducted on three designated dates. Each time the contestant would be required to present her creation for that part of a meal describing its ingredients and how it was made. Each contestant had to use readily available ingredients that were either homemade, home grown or available through rations. The four women, although at odds with each other at the beginning, soon formed a bond that was as strong as members of a family.
I really loved The Kitchen Front. The characters stayed with me long after I finished listening to the audiobook. I did not know a lot about the hardships the women experienced during World War II with the dwindling and hard to get ration supplies. Apparently, there were many radio shows like The Kitchen Front and cooking contests during this time. What a clever way to boost morale among the women during that difficult time in history. I am so glad I finally got to read The Kitchen Front and highly recommend it.
February 24, 2021
This is author Jennifer Ryan’s third novel and while it’s only the second one of hers that I’ve read, I enjoyed it just as much. One of the things that had really appealed to me back when I read Ryan’s debut The Chilbury Ladies’ Club a few years back was the way she was able to paint a vivid picture of the home front in England during WWII. This was a time period where all able-bodied men were expected to enlist and help with the war effort at the front lines, leaving behind mostly women and children (and men who had gotten out of being drafted) to take care of things at home. With her newest novel, Ryan once again captures the sentiment of the time, through the story of 4 women who join a wartime cooking contest in the hopes of landing a prime spot as co-host of a popular BBC radio program. Each woman has her own reasons and motivations for joining the contest. Audrey, a widow whose beloved husband was killed serving his country and now, laden with debt and 3 young sons to take care of, decides that the only way to save the dilapidated house she lives in and therefore keep a roof over her family’s head is to win the contest so that she can get a steady, well-paying job. Gwendoline – Audrey’s estranged sister and also the wife of the wealthiest man in the village – enters the contest expecting a sure-fire win that will further cement her status in society, though deep down, she is motivated by a profound lack of self-worth spurred by her violent husband Sir Strickland’s disdain and loathing. Nell is an orphan turned kitchen maid who yearns for freedom from life-long servitude in the Strickland household and sees the contest as an opportunity to finally realize her dreams for a better life. And finally, Zelda Dupont is a trained chef displaced from London after the hotel she worked at is bombed – having experienced a lifetime of hardship and lost opportunities due to being a woman, she is determined to win the contest so she can return to London at the top of her game and give the men dominating the profession a run for their money.
Through a narrative that alternates between each of the four women’s perspectives, we are given keen insight into not just how the war impacts each of their lives, but more importantly, how they persevere and overcome the challenges they’re faced with in order to make the best of what they have. In reading the Author’s Note at the end, it was fascinating to learn that parts of the story were actually inspired by real-life events – from the idea of contests (which were popular during that time period due the entertainment it provided and the ability to divert people’s minds away from the horrors of the war), to food rationing and the need to pay close attention to ingredients being used, to the actual BBC radio program entitled The Kitchen Front that had been established to share recipes as well as cooking tips and techniques during the war. I was impressed by the amount of research that went into the story as well as the transportive nature of the writing. Most of all though, I love the food-themed elements incorporated throughout the story, especially the recipes and the resourcefulness of the women who had to find ways to adapt the meals they cooked out of necessity during the war. Ryan writes in her author’s note that many of the recipes she incorporated into the story were from the National Archives as well as from people she interviewed who had lived through those times. It humbled me to think about how much we take for granted nowadays on food-related matters when back then, it was such a battle just to get food onto the table. This is one of the aspects I’ve always loved about historical fiction — its ability to make history more relatable to those of us who never experienced it.
Having read two of Ryan’s books, both of which have been inspiring as well as uplifting, I look forward to reading more of her works, including her sophomore novel, published in 2019, that I was not able to get to at the time. If you get the chance to pick up this newest one up, I definitely highly recommend it!
Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley
March 21, 2021
The Kitchen Front is a piece of historical fiction set in a small town outside of London and spans from roughly post-Dunkirk up to 1943. It's the tale of four women with their roles as women, their hopes and desires, told under the umbrella of food rationing during World War II. It seems to continue in the stream of female led stories set during WWII ala The Nightingale, The Huntress, and even the food related The Baker's Secret. And while those books were good to very good, The Kitchen Front comes across as highly cliched, with a main cast of about a half dozen incredibly flat characters, and an eye rolling ending.
The four women in the story are Audrey, a war widow raising three boys and running a baking business out of her crumbling home to try and make ends meet; her sister Lady Gwendoline, who married for money and position and is now finding out what a gilded existence that is; Nell, the shy kitchen servant in Lady Gwendoline's employee; and Zelda, bent on becoming a well known head chef but feels held back because of her gender and now her unplanned pregnancy. These four women become the contestants in a cooking competition to see who will become the next radio persona on the BBC radio show The Kitchen Front.
The book has a strong feminist theme as the women in the book are ALWAYS good and the men in the book (Lady Gwendoline's husband, Zelda's ex-lover) are ALWAYS bad. Again, their flat characters. Audrey is always this self sacrificing mother who pines away for her deceased husband, Lady Gwendoline does go through a change from being just an awful person to a somewhat normal person but the change is just the flip of a switch without any drama or tension or back sliding. You tell me this woman is going to spend a decade plus of looking down on people, hell bent on winning this competition by any means necessary, and just overnight becomes a saint? Totally unbelievable, I didn't buy it at all. Nell, an orphan, just wants to belong so badly / feel wanted she falls in love with the first Italian POW she meets and no one at all seems to be bothered at all by her fraternizing with the enemy? Did we all forget how close Britian came to be another Nazi occupied country? Zelda is so career bent nothing else matters. One of the worst parts in the book was when Zelda confronts the judge of the cooking competition and basically blackmails him in to allowing her to continue to participate in the contest and when he agrees (like he has a choice?) she thinks, "Hmm, maybe good does still exist in the world!" No Zelda, you blackmailed him, there's a BIG difference.
But before long it becomes blatantly obvious who will win the competition, and yep, she does. Everything falls in line, blah blah blah underdog story, blah blah blah happily ever after ending, blah blah blah girl power! Hey look I'm all for women in the kitchen, I've been working in kitchens for 20+ years and I can honestly say the bosses who taught me the most and were the most fun to work for were women. My own wife and I have backward gender roles too, my problem with the book is not the feminist aspects of it. My problem with the book, for the final time, is it's flat characters and cliches. If you're looking for some (wo)man vs self struggle, or internal tension at all, you will not find it here.
The four women in the story are Audrey, a war widow raising three boys and running a baking business out of her crumbling home to try and make ends meet; her sister Lady Gwendoline, who married for money and position and is now finding out what a gilded existence that is; Nell, the shy kitchen servant in Lady Gwendoline's employee; and Zelda, bent on becoming a well known head chef but feels held back because of her gender and now her unplanned pregnancy. These four women become the contestants in a cooking competition to see who will become the next radio persona on the BBC radio show The Kitchen Front.
The book has a strong feminist theme as the women in the book are ALWAYS good and the men in the book (Lady Gwendoline's husband, Zelda's ex-lover) are ALWAYS bad. Again, their flat characters. Audrey is always this self sacrificing mother who pines away for her deceased husband, Lady Gwendoline does go through a change from being just an awful person to a somewhat normal person but the change is just the flip of a switch without any drama or tension or back sliding. You tell me this woman is going to spend a decade plus of looking down on people, hell bent on winning this competition by any means necessary, and just overnight becomes a saint? Totally unbelievable, I didn't buy it at all. Nell, an orphan, just wants to belong so badly / feel wanted she falls in love with the first Italian POW she meets and no one at all seems to be bothered at all by her fraternizing with the enemy? Did we all forget how close Britian came to be another Nazi occupied country? Zelda is so career bent nothing else matters. One of the worst parts in the book was when Zelda confronts the judge of the cooking competition and basically blackmails him in to allowing her to continue to participate in the contest and when he agrees (like he has a choice?) she thinks, "Hmm, maybe good does still exist in the world!" No Zelda, you blackmailed him, there's a BIG difference.
But before long it becomes blatantly obvious who will win the competition, and yep, she does. Everything falls in line, blah blah blah underdog story, blah blah blah happily ever after ending, blah blah blah girl power! Hey look I'm all for women in the kitchen, I've been working in kitchens for 20+ years and I can honestly say the bosses who taught me the most and were the most fun to work for were women. My own wife and I have backward gender roles too, my problem with the book is not the feminist aspects of it. My problem with the book, for the final time, is it's flat characters and cliches. If you're looking for some (wo)man vs self struggle, or internal tension at all, you will not find it here.
October 26, 2023
I remember my dear old Gran telling me stories when she was alive, that rationing and the ingenious ways they needed to Color their hair, pre tend they had stockings on and what they used for makeup.
I was fascinated as a young girl back then.
My dear Mom when she was alive used to speak about lining up for hours because the rationing of food and reaching the front didn’t always mean you’d get what you originally stood in line for!
This book reminded me of those times to which my relatives spoke of.
The scarcity of ingredients and the replacement of ingredients they did have.
It’s fascinating and also humbling.
The women were quite complex in levels of ranking and life and experience.
I thought each character was very well thought out in perspective and personality that didn’t always in twine comfortably with each other and definitely had competitive sidelines of “wanting to be the best”.
Loved the dialogue and the atmosphere of this story.
A lovely historical comfy read with a lot of mixed emotions too.
It wasn’t all plain sailing.
This book has hidden depths.
If you like a bit of historical fiction in your life you won’t go far wrong reading this.
I was fascinated as a young girl back then.
My dear Mom when she was alive used to speak about lining up for hours because the rationing of food and reaching the front didn’t always mean you’d get what you originally stood in line for!
This book reminded me of those times to which my relatives spoke of.
The scarcity of ingredients and the replacement of ingredients they did have.
It’s fascinating and also humbling.
The women were quite complex in levels of ranking and life and experience.
I thought each character was very well thought out in perspective and personality that didn’t always in twine comfortably with each other and definitely had competitive sidelines of “wanting to be the best”.
Loved the dialogue and the atmosphere of this story.
A lovely historical comfy read with a lot of mixed emotions too.
It wasn’t all plain sailing.
This book has hidden depths.
If you like a bit of historical fiction in your life you won’t go far wrong reading this.
February 20, 2021
This is a wonderful book which feels like a World War II based combination of Downton Abbey and the Great British Baking Show. In Fenley Village, England, 1942, Ambrose Hart is reluctantly looking for a radio cohost. His bosses have decided they want a local woman who can help listeners find the best uses for their food rations. A cooking contest begins, and the winner will be Ambrose’s co-host on The Kitchen Front radio show. The four contestants are Audrey, who is trying to raise three sons and wallowing in a mountain of debt, Nell, a kitchen maid who is tired of her poor treatment, Lady Gwendoline Strickland, the haughty grand lady of the manor, who is both Nell’s boss and Audrey’s sister, and Zelda Dupont, an English girl turned London-based French chef who has been forced to cook in a British factory and is not happy about it. As the show progresses, each woman's life begins to change forever.
I immediately connected with the characters and the story. The “upstairs/downstairs,”“Downton Abbey” type relationship is demonstrated by Lady Gwendoline, Sir Strickland, and their cooks and other staff. The radio show cooking contest reminds me of a World War II radio version of the Great British Baking Show. For the contest, each contestant has to provide a starter, a main dish, and a dessert, all on different episodes of the show. All of the recipes for the contest, plus others mentioned in the story, are included in the book. We are given a window into each contestant’s life, both before and during the contest. Audrey is a grieving war widow. Gwendoline is a neglected wife of a strict and domineering nobleman. Zelda is pregnant and abandoned by the child’s father, and Nell is a young girl who wants to get out of the bonds of service. Interesting tidbits about food and history are included, such as why British sausages are called “bangers,” and how some villagers would run to “Anderson shelters,” to escape the bombings. We even get a little education on World War II era planes. I enjoyed every minute of this book, read it in one day, and will read it again.
If you love cooking and cooking shows, World War II fiction, and strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
The Kitchen Front will be released on February 23, 2021. I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
I immediately connected with the characters and the story. The “upstairs/downstairs,”“Downton Abbey” type relationship is demonstrated by Lady Gwendoline, Sir Strickland, and their cooks and other staff. The radio show cooking contest reminds me of a World War II radio version of the Great British Baking Show. For the contest, each contestant has to provide a starter, a main dish, and a dessert, all on different episodes of the show. All of the recipes for the contest, plus others mentioned in the story, are included in the book. We are given a window into each contestant’s life, both before and during the contest. Audrey is a grieving war widow. Gwendoline is a neglected wife of a strict and domineering nobleman. Zelda is pregnant and abandoned by the child’s father, and Nell is a young girl who wants to get out of the bonds of service. Interesting tidbits about food and history are included, such as why British sausages are called “bangers,” and how some villagers would run to “Anderson shelters,” to escape the bombings. We even get a little education on World War II era planes. I enjoyed every minute of this book, read it in one day, and will read it again.
If you love cooking and cooking shows, World War II fiction, and strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
The Kitchen Front will be released on February 23, 2021. I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
March 30, 2021
Rating 3.75
I really enjoyed Jennifer Ryan's book The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and adored the audio narration on it. When I saw she had a new one, called The Kitchen Front, I immediately though FOOD, I'M IN! Again I bugged my library and as soon as the audio came in I dropped everything I had going to start this one.
The Kitchen Front is a story of four women, each with different challenges and circumstances, all competing against one another for a job on the wartime radio show The Kitchen Front. The premise of the show is to teach women how to cook and bake using wartime rations and making the most of what they had. The current host, is a bit stodgy, and they want someone to liven up the show. The story is told from the alternating voices and view points of each of the main characters. You learn about each of them, how they come together, and who ultimately wins the job!
While I liked this one, it wasn't as strong as this authors previous book. It was a feel-good story, a tad predictable, a different take on a WW2 story, but ultimately the story of how women survived, and what they had to do, to survive during this time. The Kitchen Front, was an actual radio program that truly existed. The narration was decent. But I just found it wondering at times, honestly there wasn't that much food either. There were 4 characters you had to learn about so I didn't feel there was depth, and much was glossed over. While it was OK and I'm happy I read it, it's not one I will remember. I wonder if I compared it too much to Chillbury? I will say, I will check out future books by this author.
I really enjoyed Jennifer Ryan's book The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and adored the audio narration on it. When I saw she had a new one, called The Kitchen Front, I immediately though FOOD, I'M IN! Again I bugged my library and as soon as the audio came in I dropped everything I had going to start this one.
The Kitchen Front is a story of four women, each with different challenges and circumstances, all competing against one another for a job on the wartime radio show The Kitchen Front. The premise of the show is to teach women how to cook and bake using wartime rations and making the most of what they had. The current host, is a bit stodgy, and they want someone to liven up the show. The story is told from the alternating voices and view points of each of the main characters. You learn about each of them, how they come together, and who ultimately wins the job!
While I liked this one, it wasn't as strong as this authors previous book. It was a feel-good story, a tad predictable, a different take on a WW2 story, but ultimately the story of how women survived, and what they had to do, to survive during this time. The Kitchen Front, was an actual radio program that truly existed. The narration was decent. But I just found it wondering at times, honestly there wasn't that much food either. There were 4 characters you had to learn about so I didn't feel there was depth, and much was glossed over. While it was OK and I'm happy I read it, it's not one I will remember. I wonder if I compared it too much to Chillbury? I will say, I will check out future books by this author.
November 6, 2022
Great Britain had a food rationing system during World War II that restricted the amounts of meat, dairy products, sugar, tea, and other foods that could bought. Home cooks had to be careful to cook the fruits and vegetables that were in season, plant kitchen gardens, and forage in the woods and fields. German U-boats had cut off the supply of imported food. To help home cooks deal with a limited supply of ingredients, the BBC radio program "The Kitchen Front" had a three round cooking contest. The competitors had to come up with recipes for a starter, a main dish, and a dessert, and present their creations. The winner of the contest would become the co-host of the radio program.
The historical novel tells the story of the four women contestants, each who had to overcome adversity. The women used their cooking skills to support themselves financially, feed their family members, and participate in the contest. This is a tale of transformation as the women came to depend on each other and forged strong friendships.
The book contains lots of interesting historical material about rationing. Recipes of most of their creations were included. The desserts sounded delicious but I'll pass on the Spam and Game Pie, and the Sardine Rolls. This was a lighter World War II novel that kept getting better as the women's backstories were revealed.
The historical novel tells the story of the four women contestants, each who had to overcome adversity. The women used their cooking skills to support themselves financially, feed their family members, and participate in the contest. This is a tale of transformation as the women came to depend on each other and forged strong friendships.
The book contains lots of interesting historical material about rationing. Recipes of most of their creations were included. The desserts sounded delicious but I'll pass on the Spam and Game Pie, and the Sardine Rolls. This was a lighter World War II novel that kept getting better as the women's backstories were revealed.
May 29, 2022
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**3.5 stars**
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. (2021).
Two years into WWII, and the UK has a disputed supply of food. BBC have introduced a radio program called 'The Kitchen Front' to assist housewives with food rationing, and are running a cooking contest where the winner will be the show's first-ever female host. For widow Audrey, winning could mean paying off her husband's debts and keeping the family home. Her estranged sister Gwendoline is equally set on success, even with her own kitchen maid Nell also competing. Lastly there is Zelda, a London-trained chef desperate to succeed in the industry but harbouring a big secret that will change everything for her...
Whilst this novel is set in WWII and so is technically a wartime fiction book, it doesn't delve much into battles etc; the storyline of this novel focuses on the cooking efforts of four women in a small town during a cooking competition. With the contest as the setting, the book delves into the lives of the four women who are all in different circumstances with their own respective issues. It was quite interesting to see some recipes and the imagination that had to be used to adapt these meals while living on rations. I would say I definitely enjoyed the second half of the novel in comparison to the first parts; I think that is because there was some large personal growth for certain characters that made them a whole lot more likeable than they were at the beginning of the book.
Overall: if the synopsis interests you, I would recommend giving this novel a go as it is enjoyable.
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**3.5 stars**
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. (2021).
Two years into WWII, and the UK has a disputed supply of food. BBC have introduced a radio program called 'The Kitchen Front' to assist housewives with food rationing, and are running a cooking contest where the winner will be the show's first-ever female host. For widow Audrey, winning could mean paying off her husband's debts and keeping the family home. Her estranged sister Gwendoline is equally set on success, even with her own kitchen maid Nell also competing. Lastly there is Zelda, a London-trained chef desperate to succeed in the industry but harbouring a big secret that will change everything for her...
Whilst this novel is set in WWII and so is technically a wartime fiction book, it doesn't delve much into battles etc; the storyline of this novel focuses on the cooking efforts of four women in a small town during a cooking competition. With the contest as the setting, the book delves into the lives of the four women who are all in different circumstances with their own respective issues. It was quite interesting to see some recipes and the imagination that had to be used to adapt these meals while living on rations. I would say I definitely enjoyed the second half of the novel in comparison to the first parts; I think that is because there was some large personal growth for certain characters that made them a whole lot more likeable than they were at the beginning of the book.
Overall: if the synopsis interests you, I would recommend giving this novel a go as it is enjoyable.
February 7, 2024
Jennifer Ryan is a fabulous author. I have previously read The Chilbury Ladies Choir and just loved it. I have just finished this wonderful book and look forward to her next book The Underground Library which will publish soon.
Britain is reeling it from its toll two years into the war. Families are forced to use food rationing. Food rationing began in 1940 and continued to 1954, the recipes in this book are authentic coming from the interviews that Jennifer Ryan did to research this book.
Wartime food rations for one adult for one week
4 ounces of bacon or ham, meat to the value of one shilling, and tuppence (two 2 pounds of minced meat, or 1 pound of steaks or joints,)
2 ounces of cheese, 4 ounces of margarine, 2 ounces of butter, 3 pints of milk, 8 ounces of sugar, 2 ounces of jam, 2 ounces of loose tea, one fresh egg, and 3 ounces of sweets or candy.
How did they do it?
Britain is hosting a radio program called the Kitchen Front, featuring tips and recipes, focusing on the meager rations they are given They are holding a competition for a female host.
Audrey, grieving war widow living with her three young sons in a dilapidated home, is trying to make ends meet. Her sister, Lady Gwendoline wants to make a name for herself. Nell a kitchen maid would like a chance of freedom. Zelda a former chef wants to be a renowned woman chef in a man’s world.
All four are serious competitors in the contest. There are three rounds of competition, with points being scored for the best dish.
It is a heartwarming story of four women from different backgrounds, and how they found strength and friendship
It is a book to be read by all.
Britain is reeling it from its toll two years into the war. Families are forced to use food rationing. Food rationing began in 1940 and continued to 1954, the recipes in this book are authentic coming from the interviews that Jennifer Ryan did to research this book.
Wartime food rations for one adult for one week
4 ounces of bacon or ham, meat to the value of one shilling, and tuppence (two 2 pounds of minced meat, or 1 pound of steaks or joints,)
2 ounces of cheese, 4 ounces of margarine, 2 ounces of butter, 3 pints of milk, 8 ounces of sugar, 2 ounces of jam, 2 ounces of loose tea, one fresh egg, and 3 ounces of sweets or candy.
How did they do it?
Britain is hosting a radio program called the Kitchen Front, featuring tips and recipes, focusing on the meager rations they are given They are holding a competition for a female host.
Audrey, grieving war widow living with her three young sons in a dilapidated home, is trying to make ends meet. Her sister, Lady Gwendoline wants to make a name for herself. Nell a kitchen maid would like a chance of freedom. Zelda a former chef wants to be a renowned woman chef in a man’s world.
All four are serious competitors in the contest. There are three rounds of competition, with points being scored for the best dish.
It is a heartwarming story of four women from different backgrounds, and how they found strength and friendship
It is a book to be read by all.
September 3, 2022
3.5.
I loved the food elements of this book the best. The first half read more like a romance novel than historical fiction, but once the women were together as a group, it felt like women's fiction with historical elements, which I really enjoyed. Ms. Ryan did an excellent job describing every dish, and though the ending was predictable, it was sweet and heartwarming.
I loved the food elements of this book the best. The first half read more like a romance novel than historical fiction, but once the women were together as a group, it felt like women's fiction with historical elements, which I really enjoyed. Ms. Ryan did an excellent job describing every dish, and though the ending was predictable, it was sweet and heartwarming.
June 30, 2021
In our crazy COVID world, this quote was so apt- “I found that contentment- happiness even- comes in all kinds of ways. Sometimes you shouldn’t wait for things to be perfect. You need to enjoy the small things, every little moment that makes you smile.”
Times of crisis bring out out the best and worst in people- as has been experienced in the present day under the great duress of COVID 19. “The Kitchen Front” offers a now familiar perspective, focussing on four British women making the best of the untenable circumstances of WWII - creating recipes with rationed ingredients, and anything their ingenuity offers them- in order to win a government contest.
The social conditions of the times, the plight of women who were limited in career choices and the severe shortages of a wide range goods due to interrupted shipping lines are broadly painted and add great depth to this very wonderful story. I became very attached to primary characters of young widow Audrey, her snobby sister Gwendoline, kitchen maid Nell and the cocky and aspiring chef Zelda, whose lives are undergoing traumatic shifts. Old fashioned recipes are stars in themselves, real representatives of food made during this period of time.
Backed by thorough research, The Kitchen Front” offers a heartfelt story filled with effort, hope and optimism- people trying to make their way through difficult times, helping one another where possible and waiting for better times ahead.
Five stars.
Times of crisis bring out out the best and worst in people- as has been experienced in the present day under the great duress of COVID 19. “The Kitchen Front” offers a now familiar perspective, focussing on four British women making the best of the untenable circumstances of WWII - creating recipes with rationed ingredients, and anything their ingenuity offers them- in order to win a government contest.
The social conditions of the times, the plight of women who were limited in career choices and the severe shortages of a wide range goods due to interrupted shipping lines are broadly painted and add great depth to this very wonderful story. I became very attached to primary characters of young widow Audrey, her snobby sister Gwendoline, kitchen maid Nell and the cocky and aspiring chef Zelda, whose lives are undergoing traumatic shifts. Old fashioned recipes are stars in themselves, real representatives of food made during this period of time.
Backed by thorough research, The Kitchen Front” offers a heartfelt story filled with effort, hope and optimism- people trying to make their way through difficult times, helping one another where possible and waiting for better times ahead.
Five stars.
September 18, 2021
They started out in competition. Trying to sabotage each other to be the winner. They ended learning how to support and love each other. They each learned what true friendship and family really is.
February 5, 2021
The Kitchen Front is an uplifting historical fiction. Set in England, during WWII, it depicts the care, thriftiness, and innovation of women who had to produce, procure, and prepare countless meals in the midst of strict rationing. The recipes are genius and are included; I loved the characters in the story. Four women who began as adversaries, created tight friendships over need and necessity; Deeply developed characters and relationships makes for an enveloping read; Highly enjoyable!
March 8, 2021
4.5 stars for an entertaining look at a time when life was anything but entertaining; and the stories of these four women illustrate that as they do their utmost to make the best of trying times, as wartime English people in general and as women realizing their own abilities/dreams. All four women, Audrey(widowed), her sister Lady Gwendoline, Nell (Lady G.'s kitchen maid), and Zelda, are transformed in this book in amazing ways. I loved all the characters from the four women cooking contestants themselves, to Audrey's three sons (Alexander, Ben, and Christopher, to Mrs. Quince the kitchen cook for Lady Gwendoline (the relationship of Mrs. Quince and Nell, reminded me so much of Mrs. Patmore and Daisy from Downton Abbey!), to Cyril the hedgehog and Gertrude the chicken with the crooked beak! The recipes described from rationed food supplies were incredible and looked to be quite tasty. This book was just as good or even better as The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. Well done Jennifer Ryan!
April 15, 2021
4.5 stars - Sadly my first read book for April - here at mid month!! But Jerne has been a strong diversion and a real pleasure...lol!
Four totally different women come together in a cooking contest for the privilege of being an announcer on the BBC radio show called The Kitchen Front. This is just outside London in 1942 during WWII. Food rationing was rampant and food was at an all time high scarcity. A young widow, with 3 boys to raise, her sister, who married into wealth, a trained chef, albeit a female, and a scullery maid, come together to complete for the coveted prize, each with different lives, different resentments, different dreams and different expectations. As the contest progresses so does the involvement of the women, taking us through many complications and perils, but finally foraging a family.
This is the second book I have read by this author and I find her very good at stabilizing a sound plot and developing well liked characters to propel the story along. Each book appears to get stronger and better.
Four totally different women come together in a cooking contest for the privilege of being an announcer on the BBC radio show called The Kitchen Front. This is just outside London in 1942 during WWII. Food rationing was rampant and food was at an all time high scarcity. A young widow, with 3 boys to raise, her sister, who married into wealth, a trained chef, albeit a female, and a scullery maid, come together to complete for the coveted prize, each with different lives, different resentments, different dreams and different expectations. As the contest progresses so does the involvement of the women, taking us through many complications and perils, but finally foraging a family.
This is the second book I have read by this author and I find her very good at stabilizing a sound plot and developing well liked characters to propel the story along. Each book appears to get stronger and better.
March 13, 2021
We find ourselves in a small community outside of London during the height of WWII in Jennifer Ryan’s new book The Kitchen Front. The book focuses on four women from different social classes who become close friends after participating in a BBC sponsored cooking contest.
The book’s fifth character is food or rather the absence of food during wartime rationing. I found this fifth character the most interesting. Rationing in Britain began in 1940 and lasted until 1954.
The Kitchen Front is a light, warm and fuzzy read. This combined with the inclusion of recipes will no doubt make it a popular Book Club novel. While I enjoyed the book I would not say it was particularly compelling and it was easy to see exactly where we were going. It was a welcome counter balance to some of the more horrific Holocaust novels I have recent read occurring during the same time period.
The book’s fifth character is food or rather the absence of food during wartime rationing. I found this fifth character the most interesting. Rationing in Britain began in 1940 and lasted until 1954.
The Kitchen Front is a light, warm and fuzzy read. This combined with the inclusion of recipes will no doubt make it a popular Book Club novel. While I enjoyed the book I would not say it was particularly compelling and it was easy to see exactly where we were going. It was a welcome counter balance to some of the more horrific Holocaust novels I have recent read occurring during the same time period.
March 10, 2021
This book is a perfect example of a good idea gone bad. I liked the setting and the premise but the writing was juvenile at best. What happened to show not tell? Stilted dialogue, stereotypes, and characters who change instantly into better people made this novel forgettable and silly.
October 29, 2023
В цілому, світла і життєствердна історія) без патосу та претензії на щось більше за це ♥️
Так, вона наївна, але наразі мені цього достатньо)
Так, вона наївна, але наразі мені цього достатньо)
December 30, 2020
THE KITCHEN FRONT
BY JENNIFER RYAN
I took a chance on this one as I have been doing lately with not very good luck but this book was a winner for me worthy of its five star rating. It did take me a little time to warm up to this historical fiction novel about creating a family out of the friendships we form that grow and the food rationing that took place during World War II in Great Britain.
The book begins in 1942 with Audrey who lives in a rural village with her three son's after she has become a widow. Her husband's airplane was shot down in Germany. Audrey has inherited her childhood home which is a mansion with some of the room's missing a roof. Her dead husband Mathew was not a high earner before the war because he was an artist. This caused them to remortgage the house and Audrey is swimming in debt. To make matters worse the way she has been earning money is by selling pies and cakes to the Women's Volunteer Service and whoever will buy them.
Gwendoline is Audrey's younger sister by two year's who holds a grudge against Audrey because their parents favored Audrey. Their parents are not living and Gwendoline has married a rich man who lives nearby. Gwendoline doesn't start out to be a nice person but she does evolve.
Nell grew up poor and works as a kitchen helper to Gwendoline and her husband's cook named Mrs. Quince. Mrs. Quince takes Nell under her wing and teaches her how to cook. There is plenty of food for Gwendoline and her husband because they get some of the hard to come by food on the Black Market.
Stella is unmarried and pregnant and gets conscripted by the military to move in with Audrey. Audrey isn't too happy about it at first even as kind as she is. Stella has trained in cooking and wants to become a Chef in London after she gives birth. She is hiding her pregnancy and plans to put up her baby for adoption so she can achieve her dream.
In Great Britain there was food rationing that went on for several years after the war was over. The Kitchen Front is both a real and in this novel all four women join this contest all trying to win the prize. It has to do with making three meals and using substitute ingredients of foods that are scarce or impossible to come by except the food that are part of these recipes can't be obtained by the Black Market. The contest is being held by the BBC. These four women each have to use their imaginations or resources to come up with the tastiest recipes and the winner is the one that scores the highest points. The Kitchen Front was really a factual radio program with ideas on how to cook food that tasted good for the folks in Great Britain who were trying to cook without rare or hard to come by foods that would stretch a recipe to include more servings and that tasted good. The recipes are included in the book along with the instructions and I found them hard to eat if it was me. Some of them sounded good and now I am off to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. This was really an interesting and heartwarming story which was a pleasure to read. This was really unique and I am happy to say that I am ending 2020 with a favorite.
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Thank you to Net Galley, Jennifer Ryan and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
#TheKitchenFront #JenniferRyan #RandomHousePublishingGroup-Ballantine #NetGalley
BY JENNIFER RYAN
I took a chance on this one as I have been doing lately with not very good luck but this book was a winner for me worthy of its five star rating. It did take me a little time to warm up to this historical fiction novel about creating a family out of the friendships we form that grow and the food rationing that took place during World War II in Great Britain.
The book begins in 1942 with Audrey who lives in a rural village with her three son's after she has become a widow. Her husband's airplane was shot down in Germany. Audrey has inherited her childhood home which is a mansion with some of the room's missing a roof. Her dead husband Mathew was not a high earner before the war because he was an artist. This caused them to remortgage the house and Audrey is swimming in debt. To make matters worse the way she has been earning money is by selling pies and cakes to the Women's Volunteer Service and whoever will buy them.
Gwendoline is Audrey's younger sister by two year's who holds a grudge against Audrey because their parents favored Audrey. Their parents are not living and Gwendoline has married a rich man who lives nearby. Gwendoline doesn't start out to be a nice person but she does evolve.
Nell grew up poor and works as a kitchen helper to Gwendoline and her husband's cook named Mrs. Quince. Mrs. Quince takes Nell under her wing and teaches her how to cook. There is plenty of food for Gwendoline and her husband because they get some of the hard to come by food on the Black Market.
Stella is unmarried and pregnant and gets conscripted by the military to move in with Audrey. Audrey isn't too happy about it at first even as kind as she is. Stella has trained in cooking and wants to become a Chef in London after she gives birth. She is hiding her pregnancy and plans to put up her baby for adoption so she can achieve her dream.
In Great Britain there was food rationing that went on for several years after the war was over. The Kitchen Front is both a real and in this novel all four women join this contest all trying to win the prize. It has to do with making three meals and using substitute ingredients of foods that are scarce or impossible to come by except the food that are part of these recipes can't be obtained by the Black Market. The contest is being held by the BBC. These four women each have to use their imaginations or resources to come up with the tastiest recipes and the winner is the one that scores the highest points. The Kitchen Front was really a factual radio program with ideas on how to cook food that tasted good for the folks in Great Britain who were trying to cook without rare or hard to come by foods that would stretch a recipe to include more servings and that tasted good. The recipes are included in the book along with the instructions and I found them hard to eat if it was me. Some of them sounded good and now I am off to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. This was really an interesting and heartwarming story which was a pleasure to read. This was really unique and I am happy to say that I am ending 2020 with a favorite.
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Thank you to Net Galley, Jennifer Ryan and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
#TheKitchenFront #JenniferRyan #RandomHousePublishingGroup-Ballantine #NetGalley
April 12, 2021
I loved the real life story behind
The Kitchen Front
so I was disappointed I didn't like this more.
The premise is sound and very girl power! Four women embark on a journey of self-discovery and forge lifelong friendships when they participate in a bake-off, each with personal ambitions they hope to fulfill if they win.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
I enjoyed the facts (and recipes) behind war time rationing; while the men were fighting the war, the women were doing their part and it wasn't EASY!
How do you make food palatable and nutritious? How do you feed a family on what little you have? How do you cope with the loss of husbands, fathers, son and brothers?
The biggest issue I had with The Kitchen Front were the women, the people I was supposed to be rooting for.
They are corny, sappy caricatures of any woman you would find in an old timey or modern movie or book.
Audrey is a hard working mother struggling to keep her home and family alive by baking pies to make ends meet. She is also the adored eldest daughter, had a artsy fartsy loving husband lost to the war, and is estranged by her social climbing, resentful sister, Gwendoline.
She is near perfect, she's a good mother, a great baker, and has a large, albeit dilapidated house left to her by her mother who favored her. She's a beauty, too.
Gwendoline has married into wealth and privilege; a status she has strove for since she was young, mostly to spite her mother and sister, jealous of her mother's favoritism to Audrey. She's no beauty. Shocking!
She is disrespectful and cold to Audrey yet when her husband turns out to be a brute, she suddenly becomes kind and congenial. This is not real life. People rarely change and when they do, it's slow, gradual and not a complete turnaround.
Gwendoline's husband as an abuser happens with no exposition; readers are introduced to a cold man interested in only status and privilege; in the next scene, he's aggressive and manhandling his wife.
Then, there's Zelda, the talented chef trained in France who has an embarrassing secret but once she can take care of that problem, she will start with a clean slate.
She is bratty, rude and though she comes from humble beginnings and should have decent street smarts, she's dopey enough to fall for a charismatic Lothario. Can you say cliche?
Then, there's the lowly kitchen maid with a flair for cooking; she is meek, mild and easily frightened. When her dear mentor falls sick, she has to man up and learn to fend for herself in the kitchen and in life.
Naturally, she falls for an alluring Italian man who treats her with the respect and love she's been seeking for nearly her whole life. This can only happen in a book.
Everyone gets their HEA and though I enjoyed the true story that inspired The Kitchen Front I wished the characters weren't so one dimensional and stereotypical.
The premise is sound and very girl power! Four women embark on a journey of self-discovery and forge lifelong friendships when they participate in a bake-off, each with personal ambitions they hope to fulfill if they win.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
I enjoyed the facts (and recipes) behind war time rationing; while the men were fighting the war, the women were doing their part and it wasn't EASY!
How do you make food palatable and nutritious? How do you feed a family on what little you have? How do you cope with the loss of husbands, fathers, son and brothers?
The biggest issue I had with The Kitchen Front were the women, the people I was supposed to be rooting for.
They are corny, sappy caricatures of any woman you would find in an old timey or modern movie or book.
Audrey is a hard working mother struggling to keep her home and family alive by baking pies to make ends meet. She is also the adored eldest daughter, had a artsy fartsy loving husband lost to the war, and is estranged by her social climbing, resentful sister, Gwendoline.
She is near perfect, she's a good mother, a great baker, and has a large, albeit dilapidated house left to her by her mother who favored her. She's a beauty, too.
Gwendoline has married into wealth and privilege; a status she has strove for since she was young, mostly to spite her mother and sister, jealous of her mother's favoritism to Audrey. She's no beauty. Shocking!
She is disrespectful and cold to Audrey yet when her husband turns out to be a brute, she suddenly becomes kind and congenial. This is not real life. People rarely change and when they do, it's slow, gradual and not a complete turnaround.
Gwendoline's husband as an abuser happens with no exposition; readers are introduced to a cold man interested in only status and privilege; in the next scene, he's aggressive and manhandling his wife.
Then, there's Zelda, the talented chef trained in France who has an embarrassing secret but once she can take care of that problem, she will start with a clean slate.
She is bratty, rude and though she comes from humble beginnings and should have decent street smarts, she's dopey enough to fall for a charismatic Lothario. Can you say cliche?
Then, there's the lowly kitchen maid with a flair for cooking; she is meek, mild and easily frightened. When her dear mentor falls sick, she has to man up and learn to fend for herself in the kitchen and in life.
Naturally, she falls for an alluring Italian man who treats her with the respect and love she's been seeking for nearly her whole life. This can only happen in a book.
Everyone gets their HEA and though I enjoyed the true story that inspired The Kitchen Front I wished the characters weren't so one dimensional and stereotypical.
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