Book Review: The Gourmet Club

Reviewed by Timothy Thomas

An inspired commentary on life’s unpredictability and the beauty of second chances

Moment by moment, day by day, we rarely know how or when people will enter or exit our lives or how influential they could become. Our acceptance of this most erratic characteristic of life may give us the courage to embrace the unexpected changes in things, circumstances, and people, giving potential to great joy even in the midst of great loss. While not strictly a treatise on the uncertainty of life, Michael Kahn’s The Gourmet Club poignantly illustrates how our most rewarding moments and meaningful connections can be birthed from the unpredictable.

The year is 1981. Four first year associates at Chicago’s prestigious Abbot & Windsor (Gabe Pollack, Eric Cameron, Susan Baker, and Norman Greenberg) have bonded because of their chance inclusion in their orientation’s Words of Welcome presentation. Norman’s wife, Esther, comes up with the idea of a potluck dinner for the small group and their respective spouses to get to know each other. After a delightfully successful evening with great food, conversation, and entertainment, the group agrees to get together for four dinner parties a year, with each couple hosting once a year. Thus, the Gourmet Club is born.

Over the years, this quarterly tradition plays host not only to the Club’s growing friendship, but also to the navigation of major decisions, career changes, and celebrations of life. As their paths diverge, these dinner parties keep them linked together by a shared desire for and need of community that offers support and encouragement.

Though Kahn writes in his author’s note that he simply followed the lead of the characters, the narrative conveys a strong sense of intentionality and wisdom. There is a thoughtfulness in the approach to each of the main characters. Their paths connect to an overarching theme of ceaseless change and community, and this connection results in a narrative landscape that is recognizably realistic with characters to match.

The difficulty in creating such a landscape and telling a story that spans decades, however, is that details can sometimes get lost. As the story gains momentum, there are lengthy gaps in the timeline that gloss over significant moments in the characters’ lives. The narrative tends to focus more on their careers, which means that less attention is given to their interpersonal lives and the changes happening within them, like parenting and marriage.

Still, this story does exactly what it sets out to do. Armed with an eclectic cast and a thoughtfully familiar world, The Gourmet Club is a confident, engaging book that prompts a reflective look at one’s own past and a hopeful look toward the future through eyes of wonder at life’s fortuitous paths.

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