The Kitchen Front: A Novel

In the author’s note at the end of the text, Ryan reveals that the real BBC radio program, The Kitchen Front, inspired this novel. While the cooking contest is fictional, the radio program did engage housewives with cooking tips and recipes. Many of the details on food rationing and substitutions within the text come from Ministry of Food documents, which are housed in national archives, and from interviews with people like the author’s grandmother, Eileen, the real-life namesake of Mrs. Eileen Quince. All of the specifications that the characters in the novel need to adhere to are based on real data, including the “Wartime food rations for one adult for one week” listed on the very first page.

Regulated food rationing in England ran from 1940 to 1954: People like Audrey’s young children would have grown up not knowing any other reality prior to adulthood. Although the system would have given people a hyperawareness of their food purchases, it was designed with equality in mind; the rationing stopped the rich from stockpiling scarce food supplies and made sure there was enough for everyone. However, there was a very real illicit-market culture for hard-to-find foods; this becomes pivotal in the novel as Sir Strickland and his employees flout rationing rules, but it was also a reality of which many upper-class people took advantage at the time.

Food rationing didn’t happen all at once; in 1940, bacon, butter, and sugar were rationed. Other foods were slowly added as scarcity rose, such as milk, eggs, tea, and meat. Once rationing began to decline in the 1950s, meat was the very last thing to have its restrictions lifted. One effect of food rationing and scarcity was that people all over England were encouraged to grow and farm their own food. These wouldn’t be counted against a family’s food rations for the week—for instance, a family farm could produce as many eggs as they wanted even though purchasing eggs was regulated. In the novel, Audrey produces her own eggs and always keeps extras aside to use in trade. Bartering between farms and gardens was common, as it allowed people access to more variety.

Public parks were upcycled into growing areas, similar to today’s community gardens. These were called “victory gardens.” This movement was called “Dig for Victory” and was seen as an act of supporting one’s country. Government messaging regularly championed the benefits of farming and gardening, and the movement helped bring communities together and made them feel as though they were playing an active role in the war effort even if they weren’t on the frontlines. “Dig for Victory” inspired local cooking and growing contests, such as for the largest vegetable or best jam, which encouraged growers as well as distracted people from the horrors of wartime and loss.

Another benefit to this movement was the way it shaped people’s relationship with their land. Leaflets were circulated with gardening tips for those unfamiliar with the practice, and people learned to see their backyards and neighborhoods in a different way: as a space for active engagement, rather than an ornament. This is something new generations are rediscovering today.