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    The School of Essential Ingredients
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    The School of Essential Ingredients
    Unavailable
    The School of Essential Ingredients
    Audiobook6 hours

    The School of Essential Ingredients

    Written by Erica Bauermeister

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A "heartbreakingly delicious" national bestseller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life

    Once a month, 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.


    From the Trade Paperback edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 22, 2009
    ISBN9781101015124
    Unavailable
    The School of Essential Ingredients
    Author

    Erica Bauermeister

    Erica Bauermeister is the author of the bestselling novel The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. She is also the co-author of non-fiction works, 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide and Let’s Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Washington, and has taught there and at Antioch University. She is a founding member of the Seattle7Writers and currently lives in Port Townsend, Washington.

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    Reviews for The School of Essential Ingredients

    4/5

    650 ratings93 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      too predictable, too cliched, too pat. author was jumping on a bandwagon (friday night knitting club, etc ) of chick lit.
    • 5/5
      I have decided that I love novels centered around food. I would have loved the recipes for all the food made. It was a lovely soothing book.
    • 5/5
      At times your soul needs a pick-me-up...this is it.
    • 3/5
      Lovely warm bath of a read. Interesting characters, lightly explored. Sensuous food and the pleasures of sharing the preparation and pleasure of eating. Reminded me of the importance of mindful cooking and eating.
    • 5/5
      To reread. Something about the magic of Mexican Hot Chocolate...
      Oh boy, gushy, romantic food prose! <3
    • 5/5
      Beautiful food writing.
    • 5/5
      Really enjoyed this - in ways reminded of Binchy's "Evening Class" - the excellent descriptions of characters. The idea of reaching out with scent, regaining memory with a hand gesture, wonderful. I can't quite dare cook as described, but (like music) something I greatly appreciate.

      This is her debut - I'll try her later stories too. I plan on sending this to my very artsy daughter...
    • 4/5
      What an unexpected little gem. I found this on the shelf of my library while I was searching for something else and found that I liked it much, much more than the other two books I was reading at the same time.
      While the story itself is fairly simple, it's the delightful descriptive language that the author uses that really got my attention.
    • 3/5
      This was a cute book. It was not a super serious read, but did approach some serious topics at some points. I liked the transition between different POV's for each student in the class. The love of food was palpable on the page. There were some great descriptions of cooking. It definitely made me hungry at some points. Personally, I had a soft spot for Antonia as I have spent time in Tuscany and related to the foods she loved best. I also loved Abuelita as I recently read a book on making tacos and am currently on a mission to make my own homemade tortillas. I'd recommend this book if you like food and want to read something that will leave you feeling warm, nourished and probably a little hungry.
    • 3/5
      This novel could best be described as a series of inter-linked short stories about the participants in a cooking class. The writing is good and the stories interesting, but the book was a little light on character and plot development for my taste. Worth reading for the lovely descriptions of cooking and what creativity in the kitchen can bring to your life.l
    • 3/5
      This character-driven tale was interesting, up to a point. Lillian owns a restaurant, and has an unusual cooking school. We meet some interesting people in this current class of would-be chefs. In a series of flashbacks, we learn a bit about their past. But that is where the novel is lacking. We never really get to know any of these characters in any depth. And we know little of what they hope for the future. Lillian does present the importance of food in a very interesting manner, but again, it could have been better developed. Just when I was hoping for more, the book ended. In this case, "leave them wanting more" was not good for this novel.
    • 4/5
      Started off strong with an interesting view of food and a mother/daughter relationship but gradually fizzled to a disappointing ending.
    • 5/5
      An excellent book! 8 students gather at Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. It becomes so much more. An awakening of the senses and the heart. Read how the strangers came together, how they slowly grew and the unexpected turns their lives take. Everyone should read this.
    • 3/5
      This books reminds me a bit of chocolate. Good bring the centerpiece. I loved the way food made the people feel. How it took in a life of its own. The setting and the characters were all pleasant. Makes me want to take a cooking class.
    • 4/5
      This was a really sweet book
    • 5/5
      A sweet and gentle story about friendship, healing, and understanding. A remarkable woman, who teaches a cooking class in her own restaurant, possesses an exceptional talent on distinguishing what “ingredients” each of her students needs to help them heal and grow. As time progresses, each of them grow closer to each other and are awakened by the different essence, flavor, and touch that are introduced to them. Deliciously written and unavoidable to capture your heart and senses.
    • 3/5
      I can't seem to get enough of food fiction lately.
    • 4/5
      Very nicely written, almost poetic in the delivery. This book engaged more senses than most, simply because of the subject matter. It was emotional, hopeful, wrenching and complete. I will read this one again.
    • 4/5
      Great holiday beach reading, meets all the requirements. Interesting characters, involving plot, not much concentration demanded, no angst.
    • 5/5
      One of my all-time favorites. Lovely prose, especially the descriptions about food and cooking.
    • 5/5
      To reread. Something about the magic of Mexican Hot Chocolate...
      Oh boy, gushy, romantic food prose! <3
    • 3/5
      Sweet, a pleasant read.
    • 5/5
      An excellent book! 8 students gather at Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. It becomes so much more. An awakening of the senses and the heart. Read how the strangers came together, how they slowly grew and the unexpected turns their lives take. Everyone should read this.
    • 3/5
      Read like several short stories.
    • 3/5
      Lillian is a talented chef and restaurant owner who holds a cooking class on the first Monday of each month. Participation is limited to eight students and their stories are told in each chapter as the lessons unfold. We have a young mother who feels she’s lost herself to her responsibilities, an older married couple with much history between them and a few secrets as well, a widower still deeply grieving the loss of his wife, a teen trying to find her purpose in life, an Italian immigrant searching for something new but learning to return to her roots, an elderly woman in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, and the charming man whose mother gave him a certificate for class because she wanted him to find his own joy. We also learn how Lillian learned to give the gift of love through her cooking. The writing in this slim volume is rich and sensual, but overly reliant on simile. Still, the descriptions of the food made me hungry for more and I enjoyed this indulgent treat (though I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it).
    • 2/5
      A romanticized perspective of food and cooking. I don't know of anyone who perceives life (or any aspect of it) the way the author describes life and living in this book. The flavours and sights and feelings are so replete with attentiveness that she must have a lot of time on her hands to be able to create such descriptions. My life moves at a much faster pace.
      I was expecting a story that came directly out of the cooking class, a story that slowly reveals the characters to each other as they really would learn about each other solely through their in-class conversations and interactions, the way we normally learn about others. However, the different chapters provide the backstory to each character in turn, following them into their past and their home life to reveal who they are and what they learn from the class. Not as interesting or skillful as I'd hoped.
      I also didn't like how Lillian is this larger-than-life magician who can teach life lessons like she is a god. A very unattainable personality.
    • 3/5
      I would like to own a copy of this book to jar myself back to remembering life's wonderful little details every once in a while. Beautiful cooking and food descriptions and equally beautiful characters. There were some overindulgent descriptives which were bothersome at points, however they also kept the book, people and food cohesive.
    • 4/5
      A quick read, but I loved the stories behind the students.
    • 5/5
      Well, I loved this book---just a delightful story with beautiful descriptions of people and food and relationships. A gentle book, baked with care by an author who knows and feels both food and people..... I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out in January.
    • 5/5
      Another book I enjoyed listening to and reading. If you are a foodie, read this. If you enjoy cooking, read this. If you like a little chick lit, read this. There were many lines I read aloud to my husband who stated he could see why I enjoyed this book as much. Good news, I believe this Jan., the author will have a spin off of this book. What's not to like with a little magic in a cooking class?