The School of Essential Ingredients

A very beautiful and delicious story. Soon after you finish reading this book, you will feel that you want to eat it. Yep, that's because Erica Bauermeister wrote her debut novel with all her heart. No wonder if this book will definitely warm our heart.

The story is about Lilian, a 30-something-woman, who owns a restaurant and loves cooking. She holds a cooking class in her restaurant every first Monday of the month.

There are 8 students in her class. Each of them has his/her own life including the problems and reasons for attending the cooking class. Beside telling about the recipes, the story also reveals about life of the students. There's Claire, a mom of 2 kids, who is so busy with domestic chores and children stuffs, until she finally doesn't have any me-time for herself. There's also Carl and Helen, an old happy couple that have family secret, Tom, who still mourns for the loss of his wife, etc. All students have their own interesting stories.

I love the way the author conveys her story. I can feel the aromas, the flavor, the textures of all foods cooked in this book. I dream of attending a nice cooking class as described in this book.

A very recommended book. You will love it. Reminds me of Joanne Harris' Chocolat. Penerbit Bentang's already translated it in Bahasa on September 2009 under title Kelas Memasak Lilian. Good translation though.