1st Novel for Cooks

Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients is light, but tasty fare. Bauermeister interleaves the stories of the participants in a chef's cooking class with mouth-watering descriptions of the various dishes they prepare. From the older couple who from the outside seem to have a flawless marriage to the young mother who feels as if she has lost her identity to Tom with the sad eyes, they each reflect on their pasts and gain perspective on the present through the wise tutelage of Lillian, the chef, and the support and comfort of each other. A bit slow to start and not a work of great depth, it is nonetheless, a pleasant and touching diversion.