The Kitchen Front

A Novel

By: Jennifer Ryan

Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow

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.

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?


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF that contains recipes from the book.

Critic reviews

“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

Just delightful!

I loved every minute of this book. It is a pleasant and interesting escape. I listen to a lot of books and not many are such that the story is compelling and well written or rather ‘woven’ together…..but this one is. The WW2 cooking and gathering details were of particular interest and reminded me of gardening, foraging around the farm and cooking with my lovely grandmother Eleanor Duckworth. This is one of the few books that I will listen to over and over.

Pretty entertaining -- stick with it!

I had a hard time getting into the story. I didn't particularly like the characters. But I stuck with it, partly because the reader was so good, and I'm glad I did. In the end, I grew to like the people, I enjoyed the book and was eager to listen to it.

Marti Snow

This story was delightfully done. I was drawn into the characters. It was clean, wholesome and interesting. Thank you!!!!

Love the narrator!

Second book I've read by this author. It brings the struggles of English women during the war to life.

Lovely story

For a different take on women’s roles in WW2, this book brings us directly to those left behind, fighting on their own to support the troops, cause, and country in a terrible time.