⋙ Download The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister 9780399155437 Books

The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister 9780399155437 Books

Download As PDF : The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister 9780399155437 Books

The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister 9780399155437 Books

This was a book that I purchased eons ago and just never got around to reading. It had been highly recommended and I was in need of a book that would capture my attention and allow me to escape a very hectic time in my life. This was the book I selected and it was great!

While a novel, it is almost a collection of short stories about a successful chef/restauranteur and the participants in a cooking class she conducts. Each individual comes to the lessons for different reasons and at different points in their lives. Ms. Bauemeister does an excellent job of fleshing out a large number of characters which was quite a feat for a newer author. They are all multi-dimensional and interesting. The chef's own backstory is part of the book and may have been one of the more interesting storylines.

Descriptive, lush writing that never seemed overdone. Interesting characters and an interesting setting. Light enough to be entertaining but with enough complexity to remain with the reader after the book is finished.

Bottom line: I enjoyed it quite and bit and plan on reading the book after this, "The Lost Art of Mixing".


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The School of Essential Ingredients Erica Bauermeister 9780399155437 Books Reviews

This is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. Multiple times I was moved to tears by the author's effortless prose. Her beautiful, sensual words render commonplace human situations and emotions excruciatingly poignantly.

I refuse to write anything about plot because I vastly prefer the delicious element of surprise to knowing anything about a story before reading a novel or watching a movie/play. What I will say is that I cannot imagine any woman who loves slowing down to experience her senses and relish the essentials of human experience not enjoying this novel. As soon as I finished it I bought it for my friend's birthday (which is four months from now!), recommended it to a blogger whose site I love, and wrote this review. In short, I highly recommend it!
I so wanted to love this book. I am a foodie at heart, and I love everything about food. What I don't enjoy is when someone takes the world of food and tries to make each aspect of it sound like a sonnet. Food has texture, smell, taste....but to make them into something that they are not, never good.
The book seems to be a mix of food network meets Maeve Binchy....who I do love as an original author. Taking random people and bringing their lives together in order to tell a story....well Ms. Binchy is the true master of that.

Also a pet peeve of mine, telling the reader something than leaving it hang. When making a cake you do need, sugar, butter, flour, eggs, but also baking powder, and if you are using buttermilk a bit of baking soda. The author has the butter, eggs, sugar, and baking soda come out, but the soda is never used and again unless it is buttermilk, baking powder would be the leavening ingredient of choice. Sorry I have a mind for details when reading

With that said I will read this book and debate about the others...I will also continue my quest for real food writing that takes a reader on a true journey of food.
There are books make you think, books that make you forget. And then there are books, like this one, that stir our soul, wakes up all your senses.Lillian is a restaurateur who runs a cooking school out of her homey bistro. She seems to have the magic touch when it comes to making simple ingredients into spectacular tasting dishes.
Approaching cooking as an art form is nothing new. But stripping dishes down to their most basic, letting the ingredients speak for themselves, that is truly art...and magic.And this is what Lillian is teaching her students.
Each student and their life is given a portion of the book,along with a dish in the class.The preparation of the dish is explored, as a conduit for memory, for what brought them to the cooking class and how it changes/awakens them.
The story line is sensuous, heart-breaking,sweet and oh so mouth watering!It makes you want to head to the kitchen! I have had play dates for years in my kitchen. I love to explore different cuisines, the more complex the better. But I believe I will go back to basics,take the time to feel and embrace the simple tastes and textures of ingredients, and let them tell me where they wish to go.
This book is delicious. All the descriptions of food & cooking makes you want to eat it, or at least curl up with it & a cup of tea. It's true that it may be too sweet for a few readers, but it was just the break I needed between my sci-fi/fantasy books.

Lillian was my favorite character. Her chapter starts off the book, and we get a little glimpse of her at the ending as well. I wanted more of her, but appreciate each chapter that gave us a glimpse into the class attendees.

The only complaint I have is that it was difficult to keep them all straight at the beginning - especially Tom & Ian. And I can't quite picture a few of them because while we got to read so many tantalizing descriptions of food, I could have used more descriptions of the people themselves.
This was a book that I purchased eons ago and just never got around to reading. It had been highly recommended and I was in need of a book that would capture my attention and allow me to escape a very hectic time in my life. This was the book I selected and it was great!

While a novel, it is almost a collection of short stories about a successful chef/restauranteur and the participants in a cooking class she conducts. Each individual comes to the lessons for different reasons and at different points in their lives. Ms. Bauemeister does an excellent job of fleshing out a large number of characters which was quite a feat for a newer author. They are all multi-dimensional and interesting. The chef's own backstory is part of the book and may have been one of the more interesting storylines.

Descriptive, lush writing that never seemed overdone. Interesting characters and an interesting setting. Light enough to be entertaining but with enough complexity to remain with the reader after the book is finished.

Bottom line I enjoyed it quite and bit and plan on reading the book after this, "The Lost Art of Mixing".