In the Kitchen Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A Short Lesson in Restaurant Terminology and our BookBrowse Review of In the Kitchen.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

Introduction

Amid the fading glory of the Imperial Hotel, embattled Executive Chef Gabriel Lightfoot tries to maintain his culinary integrity in the hotel's restaurant, while managing an unruly but talented group of immigrant cooks. He must please the management of the hotel, recently purchased by an international conglomerate.

When the dead body of a Ukrainian porter is discovered in the restaurant cellar, the tenuous balance in Gabe's life begins to slip. Adding to his stress, Gabe's plan to open his own restaurant with two wealthy investors is hitting a critical stage, his father is diagnosed with cancer, and his girlfriend starts talking about a new level in their relationship. Meanwhile, Gabe convinces himself that Gleeson, the restaurant's shifty floor manager, is using hotel property to conduct some sort of nefarious business.

With all this on his mind, Gabe encounters a young immigrant named Lena, a girl mysteriously tied to the death of the porter, and he makes a decision, the consequences of which irrevocably change the course of the life he knows—and the future he thought he wanted.


Questions for Discussion

1. Consider the title of this novel. Is the kitchen the most significant setting in this novel? Why do you think the author chose “In the Kitchen”? With the group, brainstorm other title possibilities.
2. Gabe believes that his girlfriend Charlie is his perfect mate and envisions a happy, married life with her. What, then, accounts for his relationship with Lena? What attracts Gabe to Lena? Does he ever truly love her? On some subconscious level, do you think his actions were an attempt to sabotage his future with Charlie?
3. Gabe is haunted by a reoccurring nightmare of discovering Yuri's body in the catacombs and he is plagued by his inability to interpret the meaning. Is he ever able to decipher these visions? How would you explain the various settings and symbols that haunt him?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Scribner. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.