The School of Essential Ingredients

By: Erica Bauermeister

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

From the author of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a “heartbreakingly delicious” national bestseller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life.

Once a month on a Monday night, eight students gather in Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. Among them is Claire, a young woman coming to terms with her new identity as a mother; Tom, a lawyer whose life has been overturned by loss; Antonia, an Italian kitchen designer adapting to life in America; and Carl and Helen, a long-married couple whose union contains surprises the rest of the class would never suspect.

The students have come to learn the art behind Lillian's soulful dishes, but it soon becomes clear that each seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. And soon they are transformed by the aromas, flavors, and textures of what they create....©2008 Erica Baurmeister; (P)2008 Penguin

Critic reviews

Praise for The School of Essential Ingredients

“Delectable writing.”—Seattle Magazine

“Food Network fans will devour this first novel about a whimsical cooking school run by a gentle chef with a fierce passion for food.”—People

“Lyrical and descriptive.”—The Oregonian

“Bauermeister deftly combines romance, lyrical language and a dash of sentimentality.”—St. Petersburg Times

“[A] warm, satisfying exploration of food, cooking and memory…evocative.”—The Star-Ledger (NJ)

“The novel has that...life-is-meals feeling.”—Los Angeles Times

“In this remarkable debut, Bauermeister creates a captivating world where the pleasures and particulars of sophisticated food come to mean much more than simple epicurean indulgence.”—Publishers Weekly

“Exquisitely written...It’s a luscious slice of life...and you will enjoy every bite.”—*New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison

“The perfect recipe for escaping from life’s stresses...luminous prose.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Kate Jacobs

Loved it

Not what I expected and that's what made it great. Loved it a lot! :0)

Very enjoyable

I read others reviews before starting this book and a concern was character development. I looked at it from a different perspective… when meeting new people, you only get slices of the life they lived and the journey they’re on going forward.
I love the narrator and found the book enjoyable.

Beautiful

Started slow, almost stopped listening, but so happy I didn’t give up. Beautiful characters. Loved it!

Foodie or want ta be’s this is for YOU !!

OK Im a book guru reader and this author merges my two great passions Books and Cooking.. come and enjoy, passion, story, words and eating, cooking, tasting, smell and the ambiance of Plate-ing great meals.. You can feel yourself here!!

Not for me

This was a book club choice. I listened for a couple of hours and found that I really did not care about the characters or the story as a whole.