Eating for Beginners

A memoir of a year spent working at a Brooklyn restaurant—and on a series of farms—to get the lowdown on organic, local, ethical cooking. Includes recipes!

Food was always important to Melanie Rehak. She studied the experts on healthy nutrition, from Michael Pollan to Eric Schlosser to Wendell Berry, cooking, preparing, and sourcing what she thought were the best ingredients. So when her son turned out to be an impossible eater, dedicated to a diet of yogurt and peanut butter, she realized she needed to know more than just the basics of thoughtful eating—she needed to become a pro.

Thus began a year-long quest to understand food: what we eat, how it’s produced, how it’s prepared, and what really matters when it comes to socially aware, environmentally friendly, and healthy eating. By working at Applewood, a locally sourced Brooklyn restaurant, and volunteering her time to farming, milking, cheese making, and fishing, she learned the ins-and-outs of how to shop, cook, and eat right—all while discovering some delicious recipes along the way.

Wry, wise, and warm, Eating for Beginners is a delicious and informative journey into two of life’s greatest and most complicated pleasures: food and motherhood.