The Kitchen Front: A Novel

At the beginning of the novel, Gwendoline serves as the story’s primary antagonist. She is calculating and ambitious, seeking to retain her foothold on the social ladder at any cost and undermine her sister’s independence. Gwendoline disdains the choices Audrey made and convinces herself that Audrey’s misfortunes are her own doing. Meanwhile, Gwendoline’s attempts to extort those around her for help show that she’s grown accustomed to using force and manipulation to get what she wants, rather than compassion and loyalty.

As the novel reveals more of Gwendoline and Sir Strickland’s relationship, Gwendoline becomes a more nuanced and sympathetic character. She sought out the safety of a stable and wealthy home life, but ultimately finds the cost is giving up the potential for real love and connection. For Gwendoline, food represents her own autonomy away from her destructive marriage. She sees her work with food demonstrations as the one aspect of her life that belongs to her alone, and the cooking contest as a way to carve out a place for herself that is more than being a lord’s wife.

The climax of her journey comes when she ultimately chooses to betray Sir Strickland, and with him everything she worked for, in support of her new family. Although she doesn’t have the same talents or connection with food as the other women do, she is able to prove her value as a competent businesswoman and applies the same problem-solving skills she used in her social climbing to run a women-led business.

The youngest of the four central characters, 19-year-old Nell undergoes the most dynamic change of all. She begins as a kitchen maid who never questions her place in the social order even though she consciously despises it. She stammers when questioned and feels utterly bemused at the idea that a young man would show an interest in her. Although she has a close relationship with her mentor and mother figure, Mrs. Quince, she also uses the woman as a buffer between herself and the world.

Nell’s blooming relationship with Paolo encourages her to look at herself in a new way. Although they become separated, Nell keeps the spirit of what they had together alive through her cooking. For Nell, food is her livelihood as well as a way of making sense of the world around her. When Mrs. Quince’s hospitalization forces Nell into the spotlight, she slowly learns to trust her own value. This newfound strength enables her to speak out against Sir Strickland, freeing all of the central characters from his influence. In one of the novel’s final scenes, Nell speaks to Ambrose on the air about her new restaurant—a stark contrast to her initial inability to say more than a few words to him. This illustrates how far she has come on her journey to becoming a confident young professional.

Zelda begins as a contrarian who is at odds with the other women, largely because she’s not local to the area. She brings a sense of arrogance to the competition because of her experience with more prestigious establishments, and she looks down on the other competitors. Even toward the end of the novel, Zelda hesitates to join the others’ restaurant because “No one in London has even heard of Fenley. It would be like I’d gone to the moon” (354). Despite her growth, she clings to her initial career path and the world she knows. Like Gwendoline, she looks out for herself and uses calculated manipulation to pave her way to success. When she arrives in Fenley, she has a clear goal in mind as well as a clear obstacle: her pregnancy. As she becomes closer with Audrey, however, her relationship to both these elements shifts.

Zelda’s resourcefulness and independence become useful when she’s able to teach Audrey’s excitable sons about identifying wartime aircraft. This highlights the different ways she and Audrey have adapted to the realities of war. Although Zelda comes to appreciate her place in Audrey’s household, she keeps her eye on the prize until the very last minute; at the end of the novel, when her child is born and the others solidify plans to open a restaurant, Zelda re-examines what happiness truly means. In doing so, she achieves both what she wants—a secure position as a head chef and respect as a career woman—and what she needs: a loving, accepting family in a place she can call home.

Mrs. Quince is the head cook at Fenley Hall, an experienced woman in her mid-seventies who’s developed a reputation for her skill with food. Although she is a servant in the Stricklands’ house, Mrs. Quince commands some respect; Zelda observes that she had heard the name even in London. This gives Mrs. Quince some leverage while she weathers Gwendoline’s attempt at extortion. Although she never married or had children, she became a mother figure to Nell—someone who, herself, had never had a strong maternal influence before coming to Fenley Hall. They have one of the strongest family relationships of the novel, even if they aren’t related by blood. This sets Mrs. Quince up as a contrast to Zelda, who desperately holds motherhood at bay for the majority of the story. As the only entrant to the contest who is part of a team, Mrs. Quince illustrates the way family can come together and be stronger for it.

Although Mrs. Quince risks being slightly too idealized, her presence in the central characters’ lives shows them the potential food and nourishment have to overcome times of hardship. Mrs. Quince teaches Nell that preparing and sharing food is an act of love, and this becomes the central lesson that Nell comes away with as she crosses the threshold of adulthood. Her death becomes the final obstacle that Nell overcomes on this journey, and her memory inspires the others to embrace life with positivity and love in the same way that Mrs. Quince always did. She leaves a lasting legacy in the shifting perspectives and future of the four women.