Arnold Wesker emerged as a pivotal figure in the social protest movement that defined British theater in the late 1950s and early 1960s. While contemporaries such as John Osborne were labeled as "angry young men," Wesker earned the moniker "the angry angel" due to the idealistic themes that permeated his plays, notably exemplified in The Kitchen.

The Kitchen holds the distinction of being Wesker's inaugural play. Initially presented as a one-act piece without the benefit of sets at London's Royal Court Theatre—a hub for social protest drama—the play's early iteration laid the groundwork for Wesker's future success. However, it was only after the acclaim garnered by his influential trilogy, consisting of Chicken Soup with Barley (performed in 1958 and published in 1959), Roots (performed and published in 1959), and I’m Talking About Jerusalem (performed and published in 1960), that The Kitchen underwent a transformation. Its revised, full-length version received a comprehensive production at the Royal Court in 1961 and was subsequently adapted into a film the same year.

Diverging from many of his contemporaries, Wesker's roots lay in the working class, an experience he drew upon to infuse authenticity into his works. He acquired intimate knowledge of kitchen dynamics through his experiences as a pastry-cook in both French and British establishments. This background is mirrored in the character of Paul, the Jewish pastry-cook in the play, who serves as a partial self-portrait of Wesker. Although Paul's character was sometimes perceived as politically naïve, drawing criticism from some quarters, the play's depiction of work resonated powerfully with critics like Kenneth Tynan. Tynan lauded it for achieving what few playwrights had attempted before: the dramatization of work. The Kitchen stands as a testament to Wesker's enduring concern for the working class and their quest for creative fulfillment, themes that he continued to explore in more nuanced and contemplative ways throughout his subsequent trilogy and later works.