The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister

     The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister is the story of a cooking class that meets once a month on Monday night in the restaurant owned by Lillian.  The eight students who attend the class come with varying skills and expectations.  Lillian tells them:

     "The first question people always ask me is what are the essential ingredients...I might as well tell you, there isn't a list and I've never had one.  Nor do I hand out recipes.  All I can say is that you will leave with what you need to."

     Lillian teaches them awareness of the aromas, flavors, and textures of the foods they create.  As the classes progress, the students lives are transformed by the lessons learned in the kitchen.  Lillian teaches them as much about life and love as she does about cooking.
     The novel is a verbal feast:  elegantly and sensually crafted.  It weaves the magic in language that Lillian weaves with food.
     As a book addict, I was intrigued by Lillian's childhood.  Her love of cooking and food was sparked by her mother's withdrawal from life:

     "Lillian had been four years old when her father left them, and her mother, stunned, had slid into books like a seal into water...In the new life, Lillian's mother's face became a series of book covers, held in place where eyes, nose, or mouth might normally appear.  Lillian soon learned that book covers could forecast moods much like facial expressions, for Lillian's mother swan deeply into the books she read, until the personality of the protagonist surrounded her like a perfume applied by an indiscriminate hand."

     The novel is a quick and enticing read. 

- Frances