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The School of Essential Ingredients

by Erica Bauermeister (Goodreads Author)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 9,796 ratings · 2,372 reviews

Reminiscent of Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, a gorgeously written novel about life, love, and the magic of food.

The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian's Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. Students inclu...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published January 22nd 2009 by Putnam Adult (first published January 1st 2009)

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The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Nouvelle Cuisine

2nd out of 270 books — 120 voters

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Foodie Novels

3rd out of 77 books — 65 voters

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Community Reviews

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Dec 20, 2010 miaaa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fictions-others

It probably sounds a bit sad that I actually give this book to myself as a Christmas present lol but I sometimes tend to be quite melancholy around Christmas,

First, I couldn't go home as every resources are reserved for my sister's wedding next February
Second, not going home means I couldn't ask mum to cook all her special dishes for me oh especially those sour-sweet shrimps oh yummy
Three, Christmas means baking cookies for the whole family oh yeah I can bake cookies hehe but maybe this time I...more

8 likes · like · see review

Nov 20, 2011 indri rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-gift, drama

#2011-29#

yang didapat ketika baca buku ini = lapar.

masakannya enak-enak, kelas restoran, dan banyak resep italia favoritku, canneloni dengan saus yang menetes-netes, taart coklat berwarna putih, kepiting saus lemon.

penguasa-penguasa dapur yang bikin teringat ketika baca buku ini :

1. Burger Blenger.
Sudah pernah nyoba? Kalau menurut saya, rasanya enaakk sekali. Dagingnya yang dipanggang sampai empuk, tebal dan mantep lah (sangat jauh beda dengan mcD punya), sayurannya kyuri jepang yang segar dan t...more #2011-29#

yang didapat ketika baca buku ini = lapar.

masakannya enak-enak, kelas restoran, dan banyak resep italia favoritku, canneloni dengan saus yang menetes-netes, taart coklat berwarna putih, kepiting saus lemon.

penguasa-penguasa dapur yang bikin teringat ketika baca buku ini :

1. Burger Blenger.
Sudah pernah nyoba? Kalau menurut saya, rasanya enaakk sekali. Dagingnya yang dipanggang sampai empuk, tebal dan mantep lah (sangat jauh beda dengan mcD punya), sayurannya kyuri jepang yang segar dan tomat. Cheesenya selembar tidak merusak rasa asli burger. dan yang bikin lezat adalah sausnya!! Pasti itu bukan mayonaise botolan yang dioleskan, karena lebih kental creamnya, lebih terasa zaitunnya, bawang putih bubuk, serta ada rasa asam sedikit yang mungkin dari vinegar berkualitas bagus, dan kemerahan pasta tomat. Ukuran rotinya yang berdiameter kurleb 15 cm kelihatan mantap, gak seperti (lagi2) mcD punya. Jadi kalau aku melahap burger blenger ini, mungkin itulah rasanya seperti penduduk bikini bottom melahap krabby patty masakan spongebob.
Harganya hanya 12rb per buah, lebih murah dibandingkan yang sama enaknya yaitu Burger King, tapi seharga 3x lipatnya.
Nah, kebetulan di kios Burger Blenger di ujung jalan Lamandau ini aku mendapatkan buku ini pada suatu sore, sambil menikmati sepotong burger. Menilik judulnya, semoga saja yang memberi tidak punya harapan besar bahwa aku akan bisa masak pada suatu hari..

2. tukang kue keren
Salah satu orang yang saya kenal bisa memasak kue2 yang aneh-aneh dengan enak. Maksudnya bukan cuma sekedar cake atau kue karamel atau brownies, tapi kue2 yang bisa kita temui di toko kue yang bagus, seperti cheese cake, choco cake, black forest, cupcake. Lain kali mungkin kita bisa minta tiramisu atau opera cake tergantung dia dapet pesenan apa.
Selain itu taste untuk makanan enak sangat jitu. Jadi kalau satu tempat kata tukang kue ini enak, maka makanannya emanglah enak. Sesuatu yang agak susah dilakukan olehku yang hanya mengenal enak dan enak sekali (apalagi kl gratis).

3. Ibuku
Ditulis terakhir sebagai pamungkas. Ibulah yang tak pernah lelah mengajarkan masak ketika aku sekolah. Ibu yang tiap bulan puasa mengajakku membuat kue kastengel kesukaannya dan nastar kesukaanku. Dari ibu juga aku tahu kalau yang pertama dikocok dengan mixer adalah telur dan gula. Dari ibu juga aku tahu kalau memasukkan terigu ke dalam mixer harus diawur dengan sendok yang digoyang-goyang supaya jatuhnya sedikit-sedikit. Dan aku ingat berjanji untuk rajin masak kue supaya ayahku mau membelikan kami oven besar (dan tak kutepati sesudah 2 buah brownies dan 3 loyang pizza waktu SMA)
Ibuku, yang membuat semur iga terenak dan pepes ikan mas terlezat kalau aku pulang ke Bandung, akhirnya pasrah ketika aku memang tidak punya minat memasak yang biasa2 saja. Bisa buat macaroni schotel tapi tidak bisa sayur asem. Menyadari kalau aku bukan ibu rumah tangga seperti dirinya, tapi mengikhlaskan aku sibuk bekerja. Merelakan bahwa aku tidak bisa memasak kue-kue, karena lebih memilih untuk memiliki gerinda dan gergaji listrik daripada mixer...(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 25, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: work-review-related-reading, 5-star, cooking-crafting

***oops--I misposted this review with the wrong book earlier this week. Sorry! I'm blaming holiday craziness!

This is a glorious book. It's about food as a touchstone and a means for memory, community, nurturing, healing, loving, seduction, sustenance, pleasure, joy, beginning, endings--life. It is the story of a cooking class that learns far more than culinary skills at the hands of a chef whose wisdom is not limited to food stuffs. The language is lush and decadent, rolling off the page and int...more

16 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2008 Brenda rated it 5 of 5 stars

The School of Essential Ingredients is a story of a cooking class, but is oh so much more! The spices, smells, textures, and flavors throughout the book are used as connection points to the students, their lives, memories, needs, and secrets. As you read this book, you get a warm, cozy feeling from it that lingers with you. You can almost smell and taste right through the book.

This is a book I probably would never have picked up, and if I had, it would have taken a long time for me to finally t...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2009 Michele rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: foodie-fiction, personal-library, fiction

Renowned chef Lillian owns a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest and every Monday night she hosts a cooking class.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Sounds too simple, right?

This novel is, above all else, a beautifully written character study of each student in Lillian's class. Each character is given their own chapter and their diversity is bound to strike a chord in readers from all walks of life.

Bibliophiles everywhere will see themselves in Lillian's mother, a woman who used books to escape the har...more

10 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2009 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

When an ARC arrives at my house, it usually goes in the stack of ARCs waiting to be read. But recently, I have cut down on ARC requests and have been diligently making my way through them. I’m pretty sure I only have one left in the stack to read. So, when The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister arrived on Tuesday, it was serendipitous timing - I had just finished Blindspot, and hadn’t picked up another book yet.

I started it Tuesday night, staying up way too late reading. It gr...more When an ARC arrives at my house, it usually goes in the stack of ARCs waiting to be read. But recently, I have cut down on ARC requests and have been diligently making my way through them. I’m pretty sure I only have one left in the stack to read. So, when The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister arrived on Tuesday, it was serendipitous timing - I had just finished Blindspot, and hadn’t picked up another book yet.

I started it Tuesday night, staying up way too late reading. It grabbed me immediately, the food metaphors rolling around in my brain and making me hungry. Bauermeister’s writing is lyrical and heady, and drew me right into the stories of these strangers who come together to take a cooking class.

The class is facilitated by Lillian, a chef and restaurant owner. Every Monday night, the class gathers in her restaurant’s kitchen, surrounded by the sights and smells of sweet and savory ingredients. The book is written almost as a collection of short stories, although I don’t think any chapter could stand on it’s own - each person’s story needs the frame of Lillian’s story in the prologue and epilogue, as well as the stories of the other characters. There is Antonia, the single kitchen decorator who misses her native Italy; Carl and Helen, the long-married couple whose love has endured much; Chloe, the clumsy waitress who is trying to come into her own; Ian, the young man who sees life as an experiment to be tried; Isabelle, a woman who is entering the winter of her life; Claire, the wife and mother of young children looking for something to call her own; and Tom, the widower still grieving the loss of his beloved.

Lillian has an uncanny knack for knowing just what her students need. As each Monday’s class brings an essential ingredient to the group, relationships are forged, changed, and healed. This is a short book - around 240 pages - and I could have gobbled it up in one sitting, but instead I forced myself to savor it over a few days. I will be watching eagerly for Bauermeister’s next foray into fiction.

5 out of 5 stars

(less)

11 likes · like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 JoAnn/QuAppelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

While I did finish this book, mainly to read about the food, this topic has been done before and done better, I think (by Joanne Harris and Sarah Addison Allen). I did not mind the magical realism (I am a fan of Alice Hoffman's, after all!) but the writing left a lot to be desired. I found the writing repetitious and the author used FAR TOO MANY SIMILES. By the middle of the book I was mentally groaning every time I encountered yet another simile.

Another thing that annoyed me was her over-use o...more

12 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2009 Traci rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

The School of Essential Ingredients is more than a cooking school. Chef and instructor Lillian proves it's a chance to rediscover your own life. The School of Essential Ingredients allows readers a peak into the life of each student and we watch with pleasure as their worlds realign and come together.

While nothing earth-shattering really happnes here, the pacing is beautiful--it reads so quickly, but has that lovely, languid slowness that I crave on a January afternoon. This is a perfect read fo...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2009 K8e rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This book was AMAZING!!!!! I was hungry while reading it, and hungry for more when I finished. Congrats to Erica for writing such an amazing first novel. I loved the how each chapter was a different characters point of view about their life and how they ended up in Lillian's cooking class. There were some of the best pieces of advice within the pages of this book. I think it really appeals to people who cook, or don't cook for that matter (like me) but now I want to really start learning how and...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2009 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you appreciate the concept of the Slow Food Movement and cooking without recipes you'll love this book. Definitely one of my all time favorites. A great weave of food and characters. I loved putting the book down and climbing out of bed to zest some orange peel in a cup of fresh hot chocolate.

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 29, 2008 Lisa Kelsey rated it 1 of 5 stars

Hmmmm...I see a lot of people here liked this book. For me the writing style was almost embarrassingly florid, and simile-laden. WAY too saccherine for me.

26 likes · like · see review

Mar 04, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lillian has discovered that the art of preparing fine foods can heal many of the soul's wounds. Personal experience tells her so. As students filter into the cooking school that she holds in her restaurant every Monday night, she begins to teach them the secrets of culinary excellence, tailoring the meals to each particular person's unspoken need. As raw ingredients are transformed into luscious feasts, each person in the class is also changed. From the frazzled housewife to the couple with a st...more Lillian has discovered that the art of preparing fine foods can heal many of the soul's wounds. Personal experience tells her so. As students filter into the cooking school that she holds in her restaurant every Monday night, she begins to teach them the secrets of culinary excellence, tailoring the meals to each particular person's unspoken need. As raw ingredients are transformed into luscious feasts, each person in the class is also changed. From the frazzled housewife to the couple with a stormy past, each person begins to realize that the lessons taught in Lillian's kitchen have far greater reach than the table. Carrying the secrets of the kitchen back into their own lives, the students start to experience greater understanding and healing in their own lives and begin to see the class as a refuge, where the compassion of one chef and the support of each other coalesce in unexpected and curative ways.

As a lover of food literature, I have to say this book was divine. I found the food descriptions to be wonderfully luscious and intriguing, and the human element of the story was great as well. The chapters, which focused in turn on each of the students, were crafted very compellingly because they seemed to be written in various styles. They were not so different as to be jarring, but the writing of each subject was done in a unique and singular way. I took this as a great sign of the author's versatility. She was able to make each character's chapter their own by making small changes in the writing technique.

I also loved the depth of emotion in this story. The author showed great empathy and consideration for her characters and was able to enrich the story with great emotional control. I loved the tenderness and humility of her characters. These were thoughtful and deep people who were able to express intrinsic emotions in proportion tho their circumstances. The emotional scenes in this book were written with great acuity and depth, and ranged from a light playfulness to a profound grief. I think the author used each blank canvas of character in magnetic and engaging ways that added substantial dimension to the book. Her characters weren't stereotypical knock-offs, they seemed like authentic and genuine people, like people you know, people you love. This book could have easily been overblown with drama, but the author was able to form her narrative and characters with a wonderful humility and temperance.

I found Lillian's character to be a marvel. She was consistently loving and calm towards all her students, showing by example the healing and restorative nature of life through food. I found Lillian to be a wonderfully frank and disarming person. Whenever she was on the page I knew that something great was about to be uncovered. I loved the way she enabled her students to make the most of their lessons, and their lives, both praising and teaching at the same time. She was a wonderfully competent character, both believable and charming. The story was extremely moving as well. It was both perceptive and profound, especially the chapters involving Tom, the man hiding a secret heartbreak. Although I loved Lillian, I think it was Tom and his story that moved me the most. I cried while reading Tom's story, sharing his anguish and despair with a heavy heart.

And have I mentioned the food? The food aspects of the story were fascinating and delectable. Many times throughout this book I read and reread the passages relating to the food. Her descriptions of the smells and look of the foods being prepared were like poetry, lyrical and passionate in a way I didn't expect, yet fully appreciated. I thought it was an exceptional additional benefit that almost all the food sections were written in the form of instructions, not recipes per se, but in a way that melded the story with bits of guidance that would make it easy for the reader to put together any of the featured dishes in the book.

This book was a delight on multiple levels. It was a combination of the tenacity of the human spirit and an ambrosial documentary of fine cuisine. I would have gladly read another hundred pages of this novel, had it only been written! This is not to say that the story ended unsatisfactorily, because it certainly did not. I just wanted more of this magnificent and savory tale. I thought the author did a wonderful job in both the idea and the execution. It was a quiet and uplifting tale full of scrumptious spreads. I would like to read this one again, just for the food this time. Highly recommended for foodies and those who are looking for a rich and satisfying novel. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2010 an rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

satu bintang untuk cover na, satu lagi buat kompisisi na. 2 bintang total... it's wak ok.

secara keseluruhan tidak terlalu tertarik. mungkin karena kisah na cukup sederhana. seperti masakan yang mencoba menggabungkan bahan-bahan yang berasal dari banyak sumber, demikian juga kelas memasak ini. setiap anggota na memiliki kisah masing-masing, latar belakang masing-masing dan alasan masing-masing untuk bisa berada di kelas tersebut.

kapasitas kelas yang hanya terdiri dari 8 orang membuat peserta dan...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Donura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lillian has loved cooking since she was a young girl. As she put it, “she thought smells were for her what the printed words were for others, something alive that grew and changed. She also knew that many people did not comprehend the language of the smells that she did.”

She became one of the lucky few who are able to follow their passion and not only cook for others to enjoy but to teach others to see, and smell and touch and taste what different foods have to offer.

Ms. Bauermeister serves us u...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 18, 2009 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Foodies

Recommended to Laurie by: Goodreads Giveaway

Shelves: favorites

I was so impressed by The School of Essential Ingredients. Erica Bauermeister shows equal passion for the English language and food by painting beautiful pictures of food through creative and engaging language. The School of Essential Ingredients is a collection of short stories weaved around a Monday night cooking class. Each story focuses on a cooking class student and their life delving deep into their past or present situation. Erica Bauermeister manages to evoke a wide range of emotions. Th...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 03, 2009 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I just finished reading this book, which I must say I might never have picked up, except for the fact that I won it in a Goodreads Free Book contest. I'm so glad I did, because the book is very, very good. Essentially, it's the story of Lillian and the restaurant she owns where she holds cooking classes. However, that doesn't begin to tell the story. Lillian has a magical talent, which is that she can select food for individuals that helps them remember critical events in their lives in a positi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 21, 2009 Tattered Cover Book Store added it

Shelves: jackie-recommends, staff-recommends, from-the-indienext-list, books-from-events

This is a glorious book. It's about food as a touchstone and a means for memory,community, nurturing, healing, loving, seduction, sustenance, pleasure, joy, beginning, endings--life. It is the story of a cooking class that learns far more than culinary skills at the hands of a chef whose wisdom is not limited to food stuffs. The language is lush and decadent, rolling off the page and into your mind like a drug. I could taste, smell, see and feel everything as if I was indeed standing at the prep...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2009 Rory rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites-over-time, favorite-authors, proudly-owned, fiction-treasures

I've given 5-star ratings to a lot of books I've really liked. But "The School of Essential Ingredients" is on a totally different plane. This is a novel of pure love, toward food and toward life. I've never said this in any other review I've written either on here or in my movie reviews: This book will change your life, no matter if you simply read it straight through without much reaction. Scenes will creep into your memory at times you never expected. If you're not a foodie, you'll become a b...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 07, 2008 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: many folks especially readers of Like Water for Chocolate

Recommended to Laura by: Publisher

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (9780399155437, $24.95, January 2009, Fiction, Putnam) is absolutley charming and Bauermeister's writing is chock full of beautiful metaphors.

On Monday nights, Lillian closes her restaurant to customers and opens her arms to the students of her cooking class. Not one to depend on recipes, Lillian opens her students eyes, hearts and minds by concentrating on each ingredient as a guest at the table to be admired and enjoyed and paired with...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 30, 2008 Rebecca McKinnon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

One of the best parts of this book turned out to be the thing I was a little wary of before starting it: every chapter is from a different character's viewpoint. I'm a people-watcher. I love to guess where people are going and why. This book takes that idea and actually gives you the answers. We get a glimpse into all these people's lives.

I was surprised how much I liked the story. It's a very quick read--I just got the copy yesterday afternoon and I'm already done. The descriptions, especially...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 06, 2009 Tami Hawley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been reading during my lunch breaks. I forgot "Chocolat" that day and happened to get this advance, so I started reading it. And wouldn't you know? ANOTHER book about food and life. I finally finished "Chocolat" this morning, and I ran to pick this one up again. And so far, I absolutely adore it. The writing is beautiful, and I love all the characters. It even made me cry already, and I'm only on page 82...

This book was beautifully written. It really hits all your senses. Wonderful.

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 29, 2008 Lanette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Oh, what a great book. I just finished it this morning after staying up way too late last night reading. I loved the author's style. The book itself reminded me a lot of Maeve Binchy's "Evening Class" except they are in cooking class. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves food and cooking... Amy Cassano, Kelly, Jen, Sera, and definitely Amy Curti, too... dont know when it's coming out (this was a first-reads preview) but put it on your list. It's a quick read and you'll devour it.

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 18, 2009 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best books I've read. It's reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate, another of the best books!

What I love about this book is having access to the sensuality of the author's writing. She has a way of making fresh ingredients sound luscious and the act of preparing food laden with sensual intrigue.

The book opens up with a look into the life of Lillian, the chef and cooking class teacher. Her life as a girl and how food and cooking became her vehicle of expression, and she used...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 22, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book makes me want to cook! For anyone that knows me, you know that I have had zero desire to cook until recently. This book might have just turned my spark to a flame.

"The more she cooked, the more she began to view spices as carriers of the emotions and memories of the places they were originally from and all those they had traveled through over the years. She discovered that people seemed to react to spices much as they did to other people, relaxing instinctively into some, shivering in...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 22, 2009 Darlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite book this year! Reflections of relationships intermixed with the most sensual descriptions of food. It's a personal look into the lives of a small group of men and women who are taking a cooking class. I cried every day that I indulged in this novel. It's comforting to know that we all face so many of the same issues. Wisdom runs throughout, but it is the remarkable way she chooses her words that amazed me. Too often I enjoy the story. I am savoring every word in this Bauerme...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 Kristi Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Like Doreen Orion's book "Queen of the Road" this book includes recipes..well sort of...it's the most mouth watering book I've read in quite some time about cooking specifically! In the first part of the book there is a delicious recipe for orange hot chocolate with anise (licorice). Man does this sound good. I am planning to upgrade this recipe in Doreen's honor and add some orange liquor of some sort too. Oh, I cannot wait!

The other part of this book that makes it so fabulous is that the auth...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Michiyo 'jia' Fujiwara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: woman-literature, novel-dewasa, culinary-books, roman

Lakukanlah segala hal atas dasar cinta dan kasih sayang..

Itulah ajaran dalam buku ini..Lillian seorang bocah perempuan kecil berhasil mengembalikan semangat ibu kandungnya setelah sebuah tragedi (ayah kandung Lillian pergi meninggalkan mereka, akibatnya ibu Lillian larut dalam kesedihan dan berpaling jauh dari Lilian dan lingkungan sekitarnya dengan terus menerus membaca beraneka ragam buku sastra) dan dengan secangkir susu berbalut beragam rempah istimewa dan kulit jeruk, resep pertama yang dia...more Lakukanlah segala hal atas dasar cinta dan kasih sayang..

Itulah ajaran dalam buku ini..Lillian seorang bocah perempuan kecil berhasil mengembalikan semangat ibu kandungnya setelah sebuah tragedi (ayah kandung Lillian pergi meninggalkan mereka, akibatnya ibu Lillian larut dalam kesedihan dan berpaling jauh dari Lilian dan lingkungan sekitarnya dengan terus menerus membaca beraneka ragam buku sastra) dan dengan secangkir susu berbalut beragam rempah istimewa dan kulit jeruk, resep pertama yang diajarkan oleh guru memasaknya yang pertama; Abuelita. Perlahan-lahan Ibu Lillian tidak lagi tenggelam dalam kesedihannya, dan mulai kembali menjadi pribadinya yang dahulu sebelum ayah mereka pergi dan ketika mereka semua masih berkumpul bersama, kembali menjadi seorang ibu yang mencintai Lillian dan mencintai hidupnya..

Kenangan masa kecil itu tak pernah dilupakan oleh Lillian, bahwa dengan memasak dan menyajikan sebuah hidangan..seharusnya dapat mengantarkan sebuah kebahagiaan bagi setiap orang yang menyantapnya..dan seiring berjalannya waktu, dengan bakat dan kemahirannya; Lillian dewasa berhasil mendirikan sebuah Restoran; Lllian’s..sebuah Restoran dengan hidangan yang tak dapat terduga..tak pernah ada yang sesuai dengan apa yang telah anda rencanakan..menu akan diganti tanpa pemberitahuan sehingga membingungkan mereka yang sangat menggemari suatu hidangan, tetapi akhirnya mereka mengakui bahwa makanan yang mereka makan ternyata pas dengan yang mereka inginkan. Dan beda dengan Restoran lain, dimana pada umumnya sebuah resep masakan adalah rahasia bagi sebuah resoran tapi bagi Lillian, dengan murah hatinya ia membagi rahasia memasaknya dengan mengadakan sebuah kelas memasak bagi siapapun yang berminat setiap senin malam di awal bulan.

Para anggota kelas memasak Lillian..

Mengapa wajah Claire, pada malam pertama dimulainya kelas memasak gabungan antara rasa senang dan tidak percaya.. apa yang membuat Tom berada dalam lingkaran kesedihan yang tak tersentuh.. kemudian ada Antonia, selalu Antonia dengan suaranya yang hati-hati mencoba berbicara dalam logat dan pengucapan Amerika yang kedengarannya terlalu datar dan aneh..dan masih banyak kisah para anggota kelas memasak lainnya..

Lewat kelas memasak yang diadakan Lillian..satu persatu terungkap sebuah keajaiban mengenai sebuah aroma, cita rasa, tekstur dari apa yang mereka masak..dan pelajaran untuk menghargai setiap hal dari bahan masakan..karena engkau telah mencerabut dan mengambilnya dari lingkungan tempat asalnya (bahan makanan; bisa sayur mayur dan bahan makanan yang berasal dari hewani) sudah selayak dan sepatutnya memberlakukan bahan memasakmu dengan sebaik-baiknya..salah satu contohnya adalah kepiting..bukan dengan cara langsung merebus kepiting itu hidup-hidup tapi cobalah untuk..(lebih jelasnya baca buku ini saja ya.. )

Intinya sebuah hidangan yang disajikan bukan hanya sekedar lezat dan menggugah selera, tapi juga dapat menghapus sebuah duka dan hati yang terluka dan dapat menyebarkan sebuah harapan baru bagi siapapun yang menginginkan sebuah akhir kehidupan yang lebih indah untuk dinikmati..

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*Membaca buku ini sekilas mengingatkan akan sebuah film favoritku; Ratatouille (si tikus Remmy).. minus hidangan Ratatouille..dibuku ini. Walaupun ada sebuah hidangan lain khas Provence..tempat asal hidangan Ratatouille.
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Nov 29, 2011 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a great book. It's the kind of book you need to read when you're in a reading rut, which when reading constantly is a requirement of your job happens often. The School of Essential Ingredients is a good pick for foodies but it's really a great pick for anyone. The book starts out with Lillian's story and how she began to cook and why, this leads to present day where Lillian owns her own restaurant and offers a cooking class once a month on Monday nights. So the book moves along each coo...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Pamela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, cooking, chef, restaurant, family, food, school, recipes, favorites

Take one look at this gorgeous cover and I� ll wager you� d love to be sitting on that beautiful bench, enjoying the scenery and life around you, holding yourself back just one more moment before heading inside so you can savor the anticipation of a delicious, sensual experience![return][return]The School of Essential Ingredients, written by Erica Bauermeister, introduces us to Lillian and the students attending her cooking class. From an early age, Lillian was drawn to the kitchen, and discover...more

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May 09, 2010 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: chicklit fans

Recommended to Donna by: book club

Shelves: a-z-challenge, 2010

I can't give this book 3 stars because I can't say I liked it. I didn't dislike it, so I've given it 2 stars for "it was ok". This book comes under the category of chicklit, a category I am not fond of.

As the title suggests, the book centres around a cookery class, held at a restaurant on a Monday night each week when it is closed. There are 8 students, all with various reasons for attending the class. The usual suspects are here - a young mother whose life revolves around her children, a griev...more

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About Erica Bauermeister

Erica Bauermeister is the bestselling author of the novel The School of Essential Ingredients and the upcoming novel Joy For Beginners (June 9, 2011). The School of Essential Ingredients is currently being published in 22 countries and Joy For Beginners was recently selected to be performed as part of the New Short Fiction Series in Los Angeles (June 12, 2011). Erica Bauermeister received a B.A. f...more

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“Each person's heart breaks in it's own way. Every cure will be different, but there are some things we all need. Before anything else, we need to feel safe.” — 40 people liked it

“I used to know a sculptor... He always said that if you looked hard enough, you could see where each person carried his soul in his body. It sounds crazy, but when you saw his sculptures, it made sense. I think the same is true with those we love... Our bodies carry our memories of them, in our muscles, in our skin, in our bones. My children are right here." She pointed to the inside curve of her elbow. "Where I held them when they were babies. Even if there comes a time when I don't know who they are anymore. I believe I will feel them here.” — 18 people liked it

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