School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Baumeister.

School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Baumeister. Putman, 2010.

A gentle novel filled with rich descriptions of food and the magic that good food can impart on those who cook and eat it.

Lillian runs a resteraunt and a cooking school where she not only teaches techniques and ingredients but attends to people’s deeper needs. The book recounts her own introduction to cooking and the experiences of eight of her students.

The stories of the people in this novel are interesting and well-told, but what is exquisite is the way that Bauermeister writes about food and its preparation. Obviously she loves all the details of smell, taste and mood she relates and this love makes The School of Essential Ingredients are warm and hopeful reading experience.

Recommended for all who enjoy novels. It is just the novel to read when you need to slow down. Required reading for all those who glory in food.

But not to be read on an empty stomach.