The Kitchen Front: A Novel

The recently widowed Audrey makes pies in her kitchen, navigating around her three sons. She works hard to maintain her bakery business as well as her home and family but feels she is losing control. As she cooks, she listens to the radio program The Kitchen Front presented by Ambrose Hart on BBC radio. Her eldest son, Alexander, helps her make more butter for her recipe, and Audrey feels guilty that she’s come to rely too much on her son since her husband’s death. Her thoughts then turn to the way her garden has evolved to accommodate food shortages during the war. Alexander asks about Audrey’s past, and Audrey remembers her childhood and her tempestuous relationship with her sister, Gwendoline, who is now Lady Gwendoline of Fenley Hall.

Nell, the kitchen maid for Fenley Hall, arrives to pick up an order and tells Audrey about Gwendoline’s upcoming cooking demonstration. After Nell leaves, Audrey and Alexander discuss The Kitchen Front and the ineptitude of Ambrose Hart.

Gwendoline conducts a food demonstration on behalf of the Ministry of Food for a crowd of housewives, as well as Ambrose. She shows how to create a wartime recipe called “Lord Woolton Pie,” feeling confident in her manner and appearance.