Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister - Wait list

The School of Essential Ingredients

#1 in series

by Erica Bauermeister
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
Place a hold Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
“The first question people always ask me is what are the essential ingredients.” Lillian paused and smiled. “I might as well tell you, there isn’t a list and I’ve never had one. Nor do I hand out recipes. All I can say is that you will learn what you need to.”
Once a month on Monday night, eight students gather in Lillian’s restaurant for a cooking class. Among them is Claire, a young woman coming to terms with her new identity as a mother; Tom, a lawyer whose life has been overturned by loss; Antonia, an Italian kitchen designer adapting to life in America; and Carl and Helen, a long-married couple whose union contains surprises the rest of the class would never suspect.
The students have come to learn the art behind Lillian’s soulful dishes, but it soon becomes clear that each seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. Over time, the paths of the students mingle and intertwine, and the essence of Lillian’s cooking expands beyond the restaurant and into the secret corners of their lives, with results that are often unexpected, and always delicious.

  • Creators

  • Series

    School of Essential Ingredients

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 27, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415962619
      • File size: 174891 KB
      • Duration: 06:04:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 13, 2008
      In this remarkable debut, Bauermeister creates a captivating world where the pleasures and particulars of sophisticated food come to mean much more than simple epicurean indulgence. Respected chef and restaurateur Lillian has spent much of her 30-something years in the kitchen, looking for meaning and satisfaction in evocative, delicious combinations of ingredients. Endeavoring to instill that love and know-how in others, Lillian holds a season of Monday evening cooking classes in her restaurant. The novel takes up the story of each of her students, navigating readers through the personal dramas, memories and musings stirred up as the characters handle, slice, chop, blend, smell and taste. Each student's affecting story—painful transitions, difficult choices—is rendered in vivid prose and woven together with confidence. Delivering memorable story lines and characters while seducing the senses, Bauermeister's tale of food and hope is certain to satisfy.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Cassandra Campbell's exquisite, sensuous vocal tones set the mood for THE SCHOOL OF ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS--a novel that treats food as emotional metaphor and as therapy. A lovely homage to the soul-healing properties of a sumptuous meal--or an essential ingredient--this work enchants and inspires. The story traces the experiences (internal and external, past and present) of eight cooking-class students who are gathering at Lillian's restaurant. Campbell sweetly and deliberately speaks to the sensations of cookery and taste. While Lillian never shares a recipe in the traditional sense, her culinary creations are "without words," and transform the life of each student with aromas, flavors, and textures that unlock memories and eventual healing. As the students' lives intertwine, there are surprise results--which sparkle with Campbell's lyrical delivery. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Digital Collection Selection Guidelines