The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister: Review

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Lillian teaches cooking classes in the kitchen of her restaurant one Monday night a month. Every student who joins the class has his or her own reason for coming to Lillian's kitchen. Some, like new mom Claire, want time for themselves, some are lonely, like Antonia or hurt like Tom. As the class progresses, new relationships are formed and discoveries about each student are revealed.

That's not much of a description, I know, but that's all I can come up with for The School of Essential Ingredients. This book has gotten some good reviews but it left me feeling underwhelmed. It might have been the way the book is written: each section reveals just a portion of each student's life. I never really connected to anyone.

At times I found it overly sentimental and felt like I was being manipulated emotionally by the writing. And dear Lillian is just too good to be true with fairy godmother-like powers.

Just to be nit-picky, during one class they made a cake. I thought about this- a half hour to prepare, an hour to bake, an hour to cool, then half an hour to decorate. Then they ate it. What were they doing during this marathon cooking class? My suspension of disbelief just can't stretch that far.

On the other hand, I loved the passion the author seems to have for food. This book made me hungry. It's too hot to cook like this at the moment but I really want to make Beef Bourguignon! Plus this is a super quick read.

If you want to read something light and quick while contemplating the contents of your pantry, I recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.