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Eating for Beginners: An Education in the Pleasures of Food from Chefs, Farmers, and One Picky Kid
by
Melanie Rehak (Goodreads Author)
With grace, humor, and irresistible recipes, the author of Girl Sleuth takes us on her journey as an amateur chef, amateur farmer, and amateur parent
Melanie Rehak was always a passionate cook and food lover. Since reading the likes of Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Wendell Berry, she’d tried to eat thoughtfully as well. But after the birth of her son, Jules, she want...more
Melanie Rehak was always a passionate cook and food lover. Since reading the likes of Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Wendell Berry, she’d tried to eat thoughtfully as well. But after the birth of her son, Jules, she want...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
July 8th 2010
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 2010)
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Like a wholesome and family-oriented version of Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. (similar thoughts to the quote on the front of the book) The method for investigating the food at our table was different though - less extensive and maybe more realistic. Rehak did something more interesting than Pollan and above expectation - joined a restaurant which happened to be both in her neighborhood and already focused on doing the right thing with local or sustainable food. She traced the food chain from...more
Rehak is a warm and compelling narrator and energetic journalist. She knows just when to insert herself into the story (a brutal scene on a fishing boat is terrific, as is the story of her heady turn at the applewood grill) and exactly when to step back and let her subjects shine. The generosity and innovation of David and Laura Shae, applewood's owners, will make every reader wish they had a similar establishment in their neighborhood. While some of Eating for Beginners addresses the challenge...more
This book was fun, less preachy than some other similar books. The author, confronted with her extremely picky toddler, ends up going on a year-long foray into food--what makes it good, how to prepare, grow, distribute it ethically. She works in a restaurant, and also spends days with farmers, fishermen, and produce distributors to learn more about how we get our food and why. She is chatty and comfortable to spend time with. There are even recipes.
The only things I did not like about the book w...more
The only things I did not like about the book w...more
Eating for Beginners started because the author, Melanie Rehak had a little boy. Not just any little boy, but an incredibly picky one. She started trying to figure our what he would eat and figure out what she wanted him to eat. So she took a job in a kitchen and started exploring where food came from and how to make it.
Eating for beginners is not a particularly new or original book. It follows the lines of Micheal Pollan or Jonathan Safran Foer where they tell you pretty scary stories about wh...more
Eating for beginners is not a particularly new or original book. It follows the lines of Micheal Pollan or Jonathan Safran Foer where they tell you pretty scary stories about wh...more
Aug 24, 2011
Sandy D.
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
food,
memoirs,
new-york,
non-fiction,
united-states,
parenting,
new-england,
rural-life,
cookbook
This is an enjoyable memoir by a writer who read Michael Pollan and some other books, had a baby, then decided to write about her experiences volunteering to work in a restaurant in her neighborhood in Brooklyn. She also went to the restaurant's suppliers and learned about the how the produce, cheese, fish, and meat was produced (so there's a bit about rural life in there).
It's funny, because at the beginning of the book, her 1 y.o. is existing mainly on bananas and yogurt. He won't eat *any* of...more
It's funny, because at the beginning of the book, her 1 y.o. is existing mainly on bananas and yogurt. He won't eat *any* of...more
I definitely enjoyed reading this. An interesting perspective for those of us who have never set foot in a restaurant kitchen; certainly a good read for eco-moms who are nervous about what they're feeding their kids... It includes some of her favorite recipes, not one of which made me go "wow! I have to try that!" but perhaps they'll work for the more adventurous...
It's a bit short, with large type, which was fine since I borrowed it from the library. Had I paid the hardback cover price of $25,...more
It's a bit short, with large type, which was fine since I borrowed it from the library. Had I paid the hardback cover price of $25,...more
Jul 11, 2010
Kristen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
foodie parents
Recommended to Kristen by:
Amazon Vine
Shelves:
from-the-publisher,
memoir
Synthesizing ideals and application in the world of food, Melanie Rehak's Eating for Beginners is a delightful cross between Michael Pollan, Kitchen Confidential and Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions. Readers follow Rehak's adventures as a volunteer chef in a neighborhood restaurant and trying to introduce her toddler to the world of food, all while we consider the choices we all make about what we eat, and why.
Dashing around the area visiting sources for applewood's delicious cuisine allows...more
Dashing around the area visiting sources for applewood's delicious cuisine allows...more
Melanie Rehak was always passionate about food and cooking. And after reading Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and other similar authors she tried to eat more thoughtfully as well. But, it was after the birth of her son that Melanie really started struggling with what to feed her son. Was organic better than local? How close is "local"? She decided to start working at a local restaurant near her house called applewood where the owners were committed to serving locally grown food. She also spent t...more
I've read a lot of foodie books lately and this one just didn't stick. Inspired me to create an abandoned folder. A good friend once told me to give up after 50 pages. There are too many good books out there. Then again, she read 2666.
It's true that this book is one of many food memoirs that are trendy these days. Much like the others, the yuppie author decides to find out where her food actually comes from, works on a farm, cooks in a kitchen, and fishes on the open sea. I've seen this before.
But just because it's like other books before it doesn't mean it's no good. It's concept is unoriginal, for sure, but the writing is enjoyable and the voice of a mother caring for her family (even though the majority of the book is her...more
But just because it's like other books before it doesn't mean it's no good. It's concept is unoriginal, for sure, but the writing is enjoyable and the voice of a mother caring for her family (even though the majority of the book is her...more
A memoir that combines a parenting and food focus. This turns out to be just my style. I loved both Rehak's stories of cooking in the kitchen at applewood (and her field trips) and the interspersed bits about her finicky toddler. Though a couple of recipes are included at the end of each chapter, this isn't really a cookbook, nor should you expect statistics and footnotes. This definitely belongs in the memoir category--she spent a year working out her own family's best choices for local/organic...more
First am no chef, and I am sure if I would have read some of the books Rehak cited, I might have had a better frame of reference. I started to put this down early on because I am older as is my son, and I was quickly becoming bored reading about her son's appetite in so much detail. I hung in and glad I did. Rehak won me over by bringing me along into the kitchen, field, and aboard showing what the organic world is really like.
I have a whole new understanding, appreciation and respect for the or...more
I have a whole new understanding, appreciation and respect for the or...more
I particularly appreciated how mellow this book was, especially compared to so much writing in the genre. Her research led to some behavior modification, but nothing radical. And even the organic chefs and farmers that were interviewed all had the occasional junk food habit and recognized that sometimes a toddler will only eat a chicken nugget. Not to mention recognizing that there is still a limit to how much organic etc that most of us can afford or even find. No guilt!
There are some talented...more
There are some talented...more
Ironically, this was the book I kept on my dining room table to read while eating. I loved Rehak's honest voice; to me she was more the frustrated mom trying to learn about food than being preachy about the kinds of foods we all eat. Her ramblings and visits to the farms that supply applewood restaurant certainly got me to thinking about the way I feed my family. I'd really like to explore food from the meat-is-luxury standpoint, honor the protein and all that.
Short and entertaining. I noted the recipes she shares as I too have a picky eater at home. It's a book that pats your back telling you it's okay to feed non-organic Cheerios to your kids and still believe in local produce. I appreciate that I don't feel like I'm scolded for the food choices I make for my children. Good read,--the book is a gentler way to start educating yourself on the business and politics of food.
I really enjoyed this book but it may not be a great read for everyone. I love books about cooking, eating, food! And I love Top Chef. Loved learning about the restaurant business and how food gets to the restaurant. And I fantasized about working on the line, in a New York Restaurant, as I read this book. Of course it would be much more difficult than I can imagine but the book took me there and I loved it!
This book reads like a good friend sharing her experiences and giving all the best information she can in the most accessible way. I love how expertly Rehak combines her parental anecdotes with tales of restaurant and farm life – with some fun recipes and silliness thrown in! It had me laughing on a nightly basis, drooling over delicious descriptions of food, ear marking recipes and quoting passages out loud to my husband constantly! I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best books...more
Enjoyable read about the year in the life of a person like me, who's read up on how horrible our food production/consumption system has become, now has a child that she's charged with teaching how to eat in this world, and a case of what in the world do I do? Really informative description of life in a small restaurant as well as info on local food production of all types.
Another one of those books examining where our food comes from and why we make the choices we do. But liked it anyway. I did actually learn about how an organic farm gets its produce out to stores, what's really involved for small fishing boats and the kitchen end of restaurant work is always kind of fascinating. While the book jacket talks to parents about feeding a picky kid, there really wasn't much on that in this book (which was good for a picky adult like myself). Three and a half stars.
I found her adventure interesting,but not a big fan of her writing style. I can identify with many of the challenges she struggles with. I liked the motto in Applewood's kitchen: Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble,or hard work.It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
Ms. Rehak blends her own food life and the larger issue of food choices for the ethical consumer in an enchantingly articulate memoir. Engaging and intimate with superior writing.
Would be a 5 out of 5 but the section dealing with meat is a bit hasty. Maybe the author had trouble working through that issue on a personal level, don't know.
Would be a 5 out of 5 but the section dealing with meat is a bit hasty. Maybe the author had trouble working through that issue on a personal level, don't know.
l just love reading about food. and she does exactly what i would love to... spend time with the people who really make it happen in a good way. this book is entertaining and makes you really want to do the right thing for you and your family. whatever that is.
Loved this book. Follows author as she volunteers working in a kitchen and also travels to nearby farms, boats, and other purveyors of locally grown or locally harvested, sustainable foods for the restaurant...
A nice learning journey with a lot of grace for the process. Also, after reading about her visit to the dairy, my resolve to have one vegan meal a day was super easy. Blech.
I liked the way the author was able to blend together tales of working at the restaurant, visiting the farmers, and trying to feed a picky toddler. It was all very interesting.
Perfectly fun book about kids who won't eat, writer's who become chefs so they can write about cooking/farming, etc - an easy and fun read.
Eh. Feel like I've read this food memoir a million times before. Visit the farm, butcher the animal, be enlightened about sustainable fish...
Loved this book. Great research by the author. Food for thought!
I enjoyed Rehak's description of a working restaurant kitchen -- a friendly restaurant kitchen. Not as cut-throat or expected as in Heat. Loved the details of the two girls sleeping on futons upstairs while her parents ran the restaurant though I can't imagine how the owners of applewood managed it all.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Q&A with Melanie Rehak | 1 | 8 | Jul 29, 2010 09:02am |
