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The School of Essential Ingredients

By: Erica Bauermeister
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's summary

From the author of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a “heartbreakingly delicious” national best seller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life.

Once a month on a 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. And soon they are transformed by the aromas, flavors, and textures of what they create...

©2008 Erica Baurmeister (P)2008 Penguin

What listeners say about The School of Essential Ingredients

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Loved it

Not what I expected and that's what made it great. Loved it a lot! :0)

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2 people found this helpful

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Beautiful

Started slow, almost stopped listening, but so happy I didn’t give up. Beautiful characters. Loved it!

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Very enjoyable

I read others reviews before starting this book and a concern was character development. I looked at it from a different perspective… when meeting new people, you only get slices of the life they lived and the journey they’re on going forward.
I love the narrator and found the book enjoyable.

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Yummy!

A feast for literary and culinary senses! I wasn't ready for it to end! ❤

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1 person found this helpful

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Do Not Miss!!!

This is delightful.... whether you are a cook or just thinking about that as a possibility....or you just like to eat!

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  • Overall
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Lovely book

Enjoyable to listen to. Beautifully performed. Heartfelt back stories that give you all the feels.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Adequate

I really wanted to like this book because I really like cooking and I’m very emotional about cooking. But the breathy narrative in a voice, not quite to the point of engaging and the slightly skewed descriptive phrases made this book ordinary, and I was hoping for so much more

It’s a great book for right before you go to sleep. I was never curious about what was going to happen because it just seemed to grow on smoothly with not much action. I guess it’s kind of a character development story just not my cup of tea nor my scone

If you’re looking for something that’s soothing like a warm flatter washcloth this might be just what you need

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Excellent

As an exuberant home cook I loved all the descriptions of food in this book and the sensitivity it brought to the story.

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I loved it!

Beautifully written. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that I never wanted to end.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Similar to No Two Alike

I completed No Two Alike, so I search for other novels by this author. These two books are quite similar except for one is cooking and the other is a book. This disappointed me a bit. Was thinking, previously, that I might like to read more by this author, but now not so sure….

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