The School of Essential Ingredients
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4.2 • 242 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
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....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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. Respected chef and restaurateur Lillian has spent much of her 30-something years in the kitchen, looking for meaning and satisfaction in evocative, delicious combinations of ingredients. Endeavoring to instill that love and know-how in others, Lillian holds a season of Monday evening cooking classes in her restaurant. The novel takes up the story of each of her students, navigating readers through the personal dramas, memories and musings stirred up as the characters handle, slice, chop, blend, smell and taste. Each student's affecting story painful transitions, difficult choices is rendered in vivid prose and woven together with confidence. Delivering memorable story lines and characters while seducing the senses, Bauermeister's tale of food and hope is certain to satisfy.
Customer Reviews
This book was a feast for one’s heart an soul!
When reading this book, I loved becoming engrossed in the characters’ lives. All of them were interesting and well developed. The author never skimped on details. Her main character, Lillian, was a wonderful thread who went from one character to the other and back again so they were all equal parts of the story. I was surprised that I enjoyed the book so much. It was a realistic story of kindness, humanity, frailty, and strength. Everyone should read this book. It has much to offer.
Lovely book!
If you love to cook you’ll love this book. Very tasty. If you don’t like to cook, this will inspire you!!! Beautiful writing, a treat for all your senses!
A Sensual Book
I will spare the details of the story. This book, organized as it is in small chapters dedicated to each character, is a pleasure to read. All of the reader's senses are invoked, and it is the kind of book that one doesn't want to finish. A quick and uplifting read!