The Gourmet Club

By: Michael Kahn
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Publication Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89132-608-8
Reviewed by: Ephantus Muriuki
Review Date: April 11, 2025

The Gourmet Club by Michael Kahn is a masterfully written, emotionally charged story about second chances that follows the relationships, choices, career advancement, and personal lives of four attorneys and their spouses over a quarter of a century.

The story revolves around four young lawyers from the class of 1981—Gabe Pollack, Susan Baker, Norman Greenberg, and Eric Cameron—who are new associates at the "hot" law Chicago firm, Abbott & Windsor. The firm has a reputation for only accepting the best students from the most prestigious legal schools. The four are striving to surpass their family's accomplishments. Eric's great-grandfather established Vermont's oldest legal firm, and his uncle practices law in Rutland; Norman's family is in the plumbing business; and Susan's father, along with her three brothers, uncles, and cousins, all work as coal miners.

As they meet in the main conference room for the New Associate Orientation, they become close and immediately adopt the moniker Gourmet Club. They are all eager to earn the tremendous distinction and honor of becoming Abbott & Windsor partners at the end of their eighth year with the firm. Potluck dinners become a regular event, and hosting them by each of their families serves as the foundation for strengthening their friendship.

The pages that follow document a series of events that occur throughout their lives and careers. These include Norman's difficulty gaining clients in his third year while the other three careers are developing quickly, Susan's decision to leave her job amidst marital issues with her husband who claims her pregnancy is not his due to a prior vasectomy, Cameron's wife's pregnancy health issue for which there is no known cure, and Gabe who is struggling in finding motivation in his career.

The story's title and premise are remarkably based on a real-life incident when the author, three other first-year associates, and their wives planned a potluck supper that became a tradition in the years that followed. In addition to taking a prudent approach to long-term goals that are encapsulated and compressed across a number of years in the most concise manner feasible, it celebrates tenacity, bravery, and diligence. Its well-developed and rapidly evolving characters have been carefully chosen to show not only their brains and brilliance but also their struggles in the highly sought-after "big leagues."

Kahn has expertly crafted a tapestry in which a seemingly insignificant occurrence transforms into a lifeline. It creates a sacred tradition that acts as a calming influence among the chaos of life and the law. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that as professions flourish and fall and relationships blossom and fade, the table remains a silent character and witness to it all. In keeping with his amazing trailblazers, Kahn's most recent work is a moving portrayal of enduring friendships and the essential bonds that may keep one from plunging into the darkest abyss.

Quill says: Michael Kahn's The Gourmet Club is a touching, clear, and immensely relevant narrative with technical features that successfully enhance the flavor without making the reader uncomfortable or bored. Notably, it could stimulate the creation of new recipes and a revitalized yearning for new, enduring connections. It is a lovely work that is emotional, hilarious, and thoroughly engaging, and it will be most appealing to anybody who has ever found family in friends.

For more information about The Gourmet Club, please visit the publisher’s website at: atmospherepress.com/books/the-gourmet-club-by-michael-a-kahn.