Eating for Beginners Book Review

I saw an advertisement for the book Eating for Beginners by Melanie Rehak and thought it looked really interesting. The publishers were kind enough to send me a copy to review!

Eating for Beginners: An Education in the Pleasures of Food from Chefs, Farmers, and One Picky Kid by Melanie Rehak is based on the author?s personal experiences as an amateur chef and parent. Always a food lover, Ms. Rehak read books like Michael Pollan?s The Omnivore?s Dilemna and tried to eat thoughtfully. These books, however, didn?t provide enough information.

Ms. Rehak set out to find answers to questions like ?what?s more important, local or organic?? ?Who are these local farmers?? ?Is it okay to eat food that?s traveled?? and ?Why won?t my son (Jules) eat anything!?!?.

The result was a humorous tale of her journey through food. She started to work at a restaurant called applewood (no, that lowercase a isn?t a typo), whose owners created a brand-new menu each night based upon what foods were available. While the focus was on local and organic, they felt it was okay to move away from that theory occasionally, giving their children frozen fish sticks (sustainably fished) or buying the occasional lettuce during the winter.

Ms. Rehak not only worked in the restaurant, becoming more comfortable with food and cooking, she also visited and helped at the farms that provided applewood?s produce, helped milk the cows and goats at a farm that provided cheese, helped sort and deliver with the produce distributor and went out on a rocky journey with the local fishermen.

Ms. Rehak slowly gained and understanding of her own about what to eat and why, which she shared with us in her book.

I found it absolutely fascinating. The author has a tremendous sense of humor, making the book a gripping read. She doesn?t preach, she simply shares her experiences and understanding, taking the reader with her on her journey. She is a great storyteller, providing mouth-watering descriptions of food and vivid depictions of the people and places she visited during her quest. She even shares some of the recipes discussed in her chapters, adding in humorous instructions in most of them. She includes everything from almond cookies from creamed spinach to delicate almond cookies.

Eating for Beginners was inspiring. Not only did it encourage me to take advantage of more locally grown products, it inspired me to cook and experiment with food! I highly recommend this book to any food lover!