The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan is the March selection of the Left Coast Culinary Book Club. This is a fictional book set in World War II Great Britain with a story about for women. The story is about a cooking contest and the women’s role in it where each person has their own reasons for entering and winning.

I think that this is the first work of fiction that we have actually read. It is definitely a genre and subject matter that I would have never considered if I would not have been part of the book club. Despite the format, it is not a long read at a little over 400 pages.

The contest that the book is about is a cooking contest that uses war rations effectively. As things go along, we also learn that it is not simply rationed items but also non-rationed items and wildcrafting is also permitted. So, said another way it is making recipes with what is available when certain items are strictly limited.

For context, the book starts out with what is included in rationing for one week for one person.

  • 4oz bacon or ham
  • meat to value of 1 schilling (2lbs mincemeat or 1 steak)
  • 2oz cheese
  • 8tbls butter
  • 3 pints milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4tbls jam
  • 2oz tea (15-20 cups)
  • 1 egg (plus powdered eggs equal to 12 once a month)
  • 3oz sweets or candy

I think that you will agree with me that the above is not a lot of food. Notice too that it is largely meat, fats and sweets. Apparently things like fish or flour were not actually rationed. These would be items that could be obtained locally or not used in the war effort and not have to be imported due to the German blockade.

What is super cool about the book is that there is frequently a recipe at the end of the chapter. These would be the creations that were entered into competition or something based on the context of what was happening in the story. I didn’t do this but you could eat along with the story if you chose to do so.

I’m not going to give away the story but it ends like a Hallmark movie. Which by my book is better than a Lifetime movie. It’s ok to sometimes get lost in the feelgood story.

End Your Programming Routine: I think that you can tell that I liked the book by how I was writing. Honestly, I didn’t make any of the recipes. Not for any reason other than I mostly read a lot of on the plane or away from home. Of course the subject of thrift, survival and resourcefulness are the subjects that speak to me. Other than a bit of a campy ending, I enjoyed the journey.