---
product_id: 17662607
title: "Erica BauermeisterThe School of Essential Ingredients (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel)"
brand: "erica bauermeister"
price: "VT6079"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/17662607-erica-bauermeisterthe-school-of-essential-ingredients-a-school-of-essential
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# Erica BauermeisterThe School of Essential Ingredients (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel)

**Brand:** erica bauermeister
**Price:** VT6079
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Erica BauermeisterThe School of Essential Ingredients (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel) by erica bauermeister
- **How much does it cost?** VT6079 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/17662607-erica-bauermeisterthe-school-of-essential-ingredients-a-school-of-essential)

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## Description

Erica BauermeisterThe School of Essential Ingredients (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel)

## Images

![Erica BauermeisterThe School of Essential Ingredients (A School of Essential Ingredients Novel) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718HawzXChL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Abuelita's Star Student
  

*by J***S on Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2010*

A lovely book, The School of Essential Ingredients was written about Lillian's students in her Monday night cooking class. Like her students, Lillian has a story of her own, a sad one, that led her to the opening of her upscale restaurant and the weekly cooking classes. Erica Bauermeister does such a great job of describing the current scenes and the back stories of the eight students that the reader feels like a part of the group...or maybe like a fly on the wall who can see and hear and taste everything with clarity.Being a teacher may be one reason I enjoyed the book so much. Every term there's a new cast of characters, each with a history and reason for being there. In some ways, students are always the same, and in other ways they're very different from each other. Lillian's students were old and young, married and single, sad and glad. Through the preparation and consumption of food, memories are evoked, friendships are born, and lives are changed. The reader gets to see snapshots of the students' former lives, and the author's sketches of their individual pasts are so well written that I could see Chloe's disrespectful boyfriend becoming angry at her attempts at cooking, feel the tension in the room when Helen told Carl of her affair, and sense Ian's pleasure in preparing the tiramisu for Antonia.In our book club, we chose favorite characters. This was hard, for we liked them all. My choice was Isabelle, probably because of her comments about her adult daughters not understanding her decisions. Then there was the line about getting a crick in her neck from looking up at her sweet boy as he sat on her roof and talked about his new love interest. I liked Claire, the young mother, and could well empathize with the demands of a growing family on one's time and psyche. And lest I forget, I liked little Chloe and felt like saying, "You go, Girl!" when she found the strength to leave the lout she was living with.The truth is that all of the characters were interesting people whose past had fed into their present and made them who they were. In the end, everything is resolved, and all is well for the moment. Isn't that just like life itself? Everyone is interesting, everyone has a story, and things are the way they are for the moment. Who knows what's next on the horizon?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Witty, fun, and delectable!
  

*by C***9 on Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018*

Purchased this for a book club and after reading quite a few heavy books this year, this was a breath of fresh air! Gratuitous descriptions of natural beauty and flavorful meals, relatable characters, and an all-around sense of love and warmth. My only qualm was that the author went a bit overboard with the similes and metaphors, as you could count about three per page, especially when describing the cooking process. Some were brimming with imagination such as a voice that sounds like the smooth layers of poured cake batter, but others fell a bit flat, whether that was because they were overused or a stretch. Overall though, a thoroughly enjoyable and quick read that will leave you wanting to cook up a delicious dish of your own.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Entertaining and Enlightening
  

*by L***N on Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2015*

The School of Essential Ingredients is a novel, but it's really a collection of short stories focusing on each of the students of the cooking class, and their teacher. I loved it. The author is a skillful writer, and she must be a very good chef, because her knowledge of and love for food and the entire preparation/serving process is remarkable. Very rich. She does add a pinch too much simile, plus repetitive use of people running fingers over this surface or that, but I'll forgive her because her descriptions are just wonderful. I think that may be her strongest suit. Here are examples:"...Margaret's mother raised the cup of milk away from the pot, and Lillian looked at the sauce, an untouched snowfield, its smell the feeling of quiet at the end of an illness, when the world is starting to feel gentle and welcoming again...", and"The beef bourguignon was bubbling in the oven, the smells of meat and red wine, onions and bay leaf and thyme murmuring like travelers on a late-night train."There is a theme running through this novel, that of women offering themselves up for family - a noble and rewarding pursuit, but one which leaves them feeling a bit hollowed out (remember the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein?) But another theme, that of slowing down and treasuring, savoring, indulging in, the simple things, works to help heal these people. In fact, after I finished the book, I found that the act of closing up my home for the night seemed a richer experience. I walked through the rooms thinking, "This is my beloved home. I love this room. I love these windows." etc.The characters are well-developed and relatable, and there is a gratifying warmth between them as they struggle with the normal difficulties of life. There are several places in the book where one character reminds/asks/encourages another to answer the question, "what did you do today that made you happy?" Wouldn't we be better off for asking ourselves this question?

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*Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu*
*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-01-22*