Erica Bauermeister

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Erica Bauermeister ‘The School of Essential Ingredients is a lovely book set in a cooking class. Bauermeister writes with an elegant sensuality. If you enjoy cooking, or just enjoy savoring good food, you will like this book. Lillian’s mother retreats into her books when her husband leaves, fiction being far more comforting than reality. Lillian feels abandoned, she watches other mothers cooking dinner and baking cookies. Food touches something deep in Lillian; she tries to use it as a means of recapturing her mother. Lillian grows up to be a chef with a successful restaurant and teaches a cooking class. As each class becomes absorbed in creating nurturing food, we learn about the student’s lives and how they are changed by the confidence they gain. Each student is changed and enriched in a deeply personal way as they grow in confidence in Lillian’s kitchen. Their stories mingle with the dishes Lillian teaches them to create, and the food sounds delicious. The characters are likeable and the setting quite charming. If you enjoy cooking you will be inspired!