Review: Elza’s Kitchen by Marc Fitten

 

Title: Elza’s Kitchen

Author: Marc Fitten

Published: Bloomsbury September 2012

Synopsis: For years, Elza has managed to get by. She has her own little restaurant in the Hungarian city of Delibab cooking quality versions of her country’s classics and serving them with a smile. But lately her smile has become tired. She is weary of serving the same customers the same dishes, and the loveless affair with her sous-chef is now an irritation. With her country in a state of transition from communism to capitalism, Elza embarks upon her own change. She decides to woo The Critic, one of the harshest, most powerful restaurant columnists in Europe, in the hope of landing a glowing review that will push her above the competition. But as relationships in the kitchen sour, the food threatens to turn with them, and not even Elza’s strained composure can prevent the chaos that seems fated to engulf her.

Status:  Read from November 19 to 20, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy BloomsburyANZ}

My Thoughts:

Elza’s Kitchen is the story of a Hungarian woman in the grip of a mid life crisis. Her restaurant is a success, she entertains a virile young lover and she enjoys bourgeois comfort but her passion for life has faded, much like her youth. Casting around for inspiration she seizes upon the idea of attracting a well known Parisian food critic to her restaurant in the hopes that he will recommend it for the prestigious Silver Spoon Award but change will not come easily and Elza stands to lose it all.

In many ways I feel like this novel didn’t quite come together, I thought the focus was too often pulled away from Elza, by the Critic mourning his dog, the Sous-Chef and Dora’s new venture and the mischievous Gypsy family. It didn’t help that I found it difficult to care much for Elza whose dissatisfaction seems selfish, all the more so when she discards her besotted lover, her Sous-Chef, but objects to his developing relationship with Dora. She is oblivious to his hurt feelings and, it seems, deliberately obtuse about the impact of her rejection on their working relationship. As a result the kitchen begins to fall apart, yet Elza accepts no blame for it.

For me the strength of this novel lies in the description of dining on Elza’s simple Hungarian fare with a creative twist, a Paprika Chicken that is both tangy and sweet, pork tenderloin marinated in white wine with a paprika and dill sauce. Elza’s menu is mouthwatering, especially when dessert pastries are added.

An interesting yet inexplicable, aspect of the novel involves the naming of the characters. While the women in the story are referred to by their first names – Elza, Dora and Eva, all the men (excepting the young Gypsy boy, Pisti) are referred to by description – the Sous-Chef, the Dishwasher, The Critic, The Motorcycle Man etc. It is clearly a deliberate choice made by the author and I wonder at its significance.

I am left feeling fairly ambivalent about Elza’s Kitchen, while I thought the writing was stylish and I was interested by the unfamiliar setting of post communist Hungary, I didn’t really connect with the characters or the story. Still, I was glad when Elza rediscovered her passion for her restaurant and I headed for my recipe books looking for a recipe for paprika chicken when I had finished the last page.

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