Audiobook Review: The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (narrated by Cassandra Campbell; 6 hours, 4 mins)introduces us to Lillian and her restaurant where she teaches a Monday night cooking class. Food has always played an important role in Lillian's emotional life and she gets pleasure not just in bringing food to her patrons but in teaching her students how cooking can bring them joy and solace. Each of the students arrives at the class fleeing loss or drama in their life and ostensibly looking for cooking skills but really looking for companionship and distraction from their daily troubles. Lillian and the school offer much more than that. 

There are eight students in the class and each has their own story driving them to seek something from the experience of this class. Antonia is a kitchen designer who has recently immigrated from Italy hoping to start fresh in the US; Chole is a teen who doesn't quite fit in and is seeking acceptance; Claire is an overwhelmed mother who has lost her identity in taking on the role of mother; Tom is a young widower and still grieving the loss of his wife; Carl and Helen are an older couple with their own troubles in their marriage even though they appear quite content and Ian is a software engineer living a very linear but lonely life. Each of their stories are told throughout the book and are weaved together by the Monday nights at Lillian's cooking school. Lillian has her own difficult history and, perhaps because of that, seems to intuitively know what each of her students needs. She tailors the dishes and the intructions to meet them where they are emotionally and to teach lessons that go far beyond meal preparation. The cooking heals as does the companionship of the other students.

My Thoughts
This book is delightful - certainly anyone that enjoys food or cooking will love it but even those that struggle with cooking (see my last Weekend Cooking post!) will find something to love in this book because the food and the cooking is really a conduit to the telling of the emotional journeys of the eight students. The descriptions of food are beautiful and sensuous  - while I listened to this on my walks, I found myself getting hungry or feeling as if I could smell the dish being prepared.

Cassandra Campbell has become a favorite narrator of mine - I could listen to her voice for hours (and do!). The audio is excellent - listening to the descriptions of the food makes them come alive in a way I am not sure they would on paper.  I am looking forward to listening to the next installment in the series, The Lost Art of Mixing, to return to Lillian's and her students.

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