The School of Essential Ingredients…A Review

I was recently approached by MotherTalk to do a review on Erica Bauermeister’s first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients. Being a first novel, I didn’t know what to expect, and quite honestly, I didn’t expect much of a novel at all.

While I was on vacation, the book arrived at my house and was waiting for me. Nice cover, nice font (I am a font person), not too long. Perhaps worth the time it would take me to read it, I thought. I was right.

This novel follows the lives and loves of 8 students in a Monday night cooking class and their instructor. Each character has their own story to tell, and soon find that perhaps their missing ingredient was within themselves all along. Ms. Bauermeister is a beautiful storyteller, conjuring up detailed gardens and kitchens, captivating aromas that you think that you, too, can smell…all in all, the novel is lovely, well written and terribly easy to read. I finished the 256 pages in roughly 3 hours.
That being said, and perhaps this is a testament to her writing skills, I wish the book had been longer. To delve in to the complicated lives of so many characters could have easily filled twice the amount of pages, and I feel that perhaps I would have benefitted from getting to know these characters better. There were a few unanswered questions – questions that seemed forgotten in the mix of delicate pastas and expensive wines, but perhaps this was her plan…to leave me wanting more.

I would recommend this book to anyone who spends time in the kitchen, for the simple fact that the writing is recipe inspiring and delicious. I know it’s had me on the hunt for that one essential ingredient from the very last page.