The death is Ali’s initial hook, setting up Gabe’s emotional fragility and the themes that will drive the rest of the book. Though he is not officially implicated or even really involved in the inquest, Gabe suffers ongoing nightmares about the porter’s decaying body and his own possible implication in the death. In the opening lines of the novel, Ali writes, “When he looked back, he felt that the death of the Ukranian was the point at which things began to fall apart.” Gabriel doesn’t know Yuri, the Ukranian night porter at the Imperial who is discovered dead in the hotel’s basement at the beginning of the novel, but his death haunts him. Gabe seems unable to muster enough energy to even raise his voice at the staff members who behave however they please in his kitchen. In pursuit of this goal, plans for which are underway, he remains as aloof as possible from the international milieu that surrounds him-so much so, in fact, that many of the kitchen scenes are likely to disappoint fans of Gordon Ramsey kitchen drama. Gabriel has plans to use his stint at the Imperial as a stepping stone towards launching his own restaurant and settling into the adult life he has envisioned for himself. At the center of the novel (and the kitchen) is the hotel’s head chef, Gabriel Lightfoot, a 42-year-old Northern English chef recently hired as a part of the Imperial’s renovation project.
The kitchen that Ali portrays is a melting pot of cultures and dialects, full of exploited agency (temporary contract) workers and clashes of culture. In the Kitchen is an attempt to explore the underbelly of the culinary world through the fictional but aptly named kitchen of London’s Imperial Hotel (formerly shabby, now fabulous). Unfortunately, it brings less than expected to the table. With such a hot setting, one might expect Monica Ali’s latest novel In the Kitchen to sizzle. Extreme personalities, hot stoves, extreme pressure: it’s a recipe for great entertainment. The drama, it seems, only adds to the appeal of its product. The fascination is one that has tended to glamorize food even as it portrays the foul language and violence of many a prestigious restaurant kitchen.
One need only take a brief look at the TV Guide or the magazine aisle at the supermarket to know that we are a culture recently obsessed with kitchens, celebrity chefs, and gourmet culinary delights.
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