Listen to the interview.

The Amy’s Table Book Club book for February was The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. I loved it. It’s a novel about life, love, and the magic of food and follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant each week for cooking class. One by one they’re transformed and united by food.

Erica has always wanted to be a writer. She got her PhD from the University of Washington and, frustrated by the lack of women authors in the curriculum she co- authored “ 500 Great Books by Women” and “Let’s Hear It For the Girls” In the process of writing these books Erica read thousands of books, both good and bad, which is clearly a great education for an author. But Erica says having children probably had the biggest impact on how she writes. She has a second novel in the works, tentatively entitled Leap.

This month’s book club panel is Mychelle Armstrong , Tonya Kappes , Eisha Armstrong   and Amy Decker. They asked wonderful questions. Thanks ladies!