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About The Kitchen Front: A Novel
Product Description From the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir comes an unforgettable novel of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition and the four women who enter for a chance to better their lives. “This story had me so hooked, I literally couldn’t put it down.”—NPR Two years into World War II, 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 holding 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 competition would present 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 a 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 only serve to break it apart? Review “A charming tale that will satiate a lot of different tastes: historical fiction lovers, cooking competition fans, anyone who revels in girl-power lit. . . . . This story had me so hooked, I literally couldn’t put it down to cook.” —NPR “Positively delicious . . . Ryan excel[s] at creating warmhearted, intriguing homefront drama.” —BookPage “A delightful read.” —AARP “A positively uplifting read that is as soothing as a warm cup of Earl Grey on a gloomy morning.” —Booklist “[Ryan is] a master of plotting and working in different registers . . . Readers with an appetite for homefront WWII novels will find this deeply satisfying.” —Publishers Weekly “A creative and satiating novel. Certain to delight lovers of historical fiction and TV cooking competitions.” —Kirkus About the Author Jennifer Ryan, the author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir and The Spies of Shilling Lane, lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and two children. Originally from Kent and then London, she was previously a nonfiction book editor. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Round One STARTER Wartime food rations for one adult for one week 4 ounces bacon or ham (around 4 rashers of bacon) Meat to the value of 1 shilling and tuppence (2 pounds mincemeat or 1 pound steaks or joint) 2 ounces cheese (a 2-inch cube) 4 ounces margarine (8 tablespoons) 2 ounces butter (4 tablespoons) 3 pints of milk 8 ounces sugar (1 cup) 2 ounces jam (4 tablespoons) 2 ounces loose leaf tea (makes around 15 to 20 cups) 1 fresh egg (plus 1 packet dried egg powder, making 12 eggs, every month) 3 ounces sweets or candy Sausages, fish, vegetables, flour, and bread are not rationed but often hard to get. Canned food, like sardines, treacle, and Spam, are on the new Points Plan, and can only be bought using your extra monthly 24 points. Source: A compilation of Ministry of Food printed materials Mrs. Audrey Landon Willow Lodge, Fenley Village, England June 1942 A glorious spring morning poured its golden splendor through the tall kitchen window as a whirlwind of boys raced in, shooting at each other in a ramshackle reconstruction of Dunkirk. “Get out of here!” Audrey whooshed them out with a dishcloth. The aroma of bubbling berries—raspberries, strawberries, red currants—filled the big old kitchen as a slim woman of forty added a touch of cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg. With a man’s sweater tucked into a man’s trousers, she looked hassled and unkempt, her old boots muddy from the vegetable garden. The wooden clock on the wall chimed the half hour, and she wiped the back of her hand
