I loved The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan! The Kitchen Front was a Jessica’s Book Club selection for April. This historical fiction novel takes place in England during WWII. It focuses on the lives of four very different women who have entered a cooking contest sponsored by the BBC radio show called The Kitchen Front. Each woman has their own particular reason for entering the contest which will in some way better their life during this difficult time. All of the recipes they create have to stay within the guidelines of the Ministry of Foods wartime rations list.
Author Jennifer Ryan researched the actual BBC show, The Kitchen Front, for her novel. There were actually contests held in Britain during the 1940’s for all types of recipes, pies, and jams, etc. The Kitchen Front (novel) contains recipes for the dishes that the fictional ladies make for the contest. In reality, the contests helped the women at home focus on something positive while their family members were at war. What struck me was the fact that food rationing in Britain began in 1940 and ended in 1954! That is nine years after the war ended! I had no idea!
The book really made me think about how difficult life was during that wartime period. Imagine one adult having 4 tablespoons of butter a week, or 1 fresh egg, plus 1 packet of dried egg powder a month, which made 12 eggs. I can certainly understand why women bonded together to figure out how to feed their families.
I highly recommend The Kitchen Front if you enjoy historical fiction, cooking, and stories about strong women.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
P.S. Milo, my collie, really wanted to be in the photos for this book, as you can see from the outtakes below. Thanks to my sister, Glenna, for helping me stage the photo. I ultimately used one of her photos! 😊
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