Maggie's Kitchen

Set in 1941-1942 London, Caroline Beecham, has written this story of Maggie Johnson's attempts to establish her own restaurant providing food for people still working and living in London. This was only achievable through participation in the British Restaurant project established by the Ministry of Food in 1941 to provide food at low cost to ordinary people ensuring that they had at least one good meal a day. British Restaurants was a continuation of the National Kitchens project that operated during the First World War. Food available to the restaurants was severely rationed and it was expected that only food from a set menu would be served. Many other restrictions were placed upon the managers of these restaurants making it difficult to operate the restaurants efficiently. There was also opposition from private caterers who felt that restaurants participating in the British Restaurants project were receiving special privileges.

Maggie's restaurant, Maggie's Kitchen, established with the help of a team of loyal friends, soon became popular in her local area not just as a place to eat nutritious food but also as a community hub. This is a story of life in London during the early 1940s, of challenges. fears and love. I really enjoyed reading this book. After reading this novel you will be careful not to waste food again.

A series of recipes mentioned in the book are provided at the end of the book along with some of the resources used. At the beginning of each chapter there is a paragraph from a Ministry of Food pamphlet or recipe books written during the war.

British Restaurants in 1940s wartime Britain - Link

National kitchens: communal dining in wartime - Link to The Gazette

World War II British Restaurant - Youtube

 Ministry of Food War Cookery Leaflets - Link

Wartime Recipes - Link

Eleanor's Secret

Part of Caroline Beecham's second novel is set in wartime London. Eleanor Roy's role at the Ministry of Food was to locate artists to paint works for the various buildings. One such artist was Jack Valente but before the conclusion of the interview he was whisked away by two man in suits.

Eleanor is later seconded to work with the War Artists Advisory Committee. Eleanor is a trained artist in a time when female artists are not valued as much as their male counterparts. The book is particularly interesting with its descriptions of this aspect of life in wartime London which has had little publicity.

In 2010 Eleanor contacts her grandaughter, Kathryn living in Australia, requesting that she return to England to locate Jack Valente. It is then that Kathryn learns of the secret that Eleanor has withheld from the family for so long.