Tasting Grace

Praise

“I have loved Melissa for years, and Tasting Grace reminds me why. She combined virtually all my favorite things—food, family, fabulous stories, God—and made me want to race into my kitchen and accept her beautiful invitations to nourish my mind and soul and family by cooking. What a lovely reminder that the way we feed one another isn’t just convenient or quick-and-easy or designed to impress…it is holy.”—Jen Hatmaker, New York Times best-selling author of For the Love and Of Mess and Moxie and host of theFor the Love Podcast

“If you thought eating food was little more than ingesting some calories as cheaply and conveniently as possible, think again. In Tasting Grace, d’Arabian invites us to take a personal journey into the deep meaning of eating and to discover the power of food to illuminate and heal life. This book will help you taste food and savor life in ways you may not have thought possible.”—Norman Wirzba, author of Food and Faith

“In Tasting Grace, Melissa traces the movements of God in her life through food. It’s a gift to be offered a peek ‘behind the scenes’—to witness God’s presence in both the tender moments and the glamorous ones. This book leaves me longing for the day Melissa and I can sit together at a table and feast in God’s presence—sharing both the laughter and tears that come with knowing God through the food we eat.”—Kendall Vanderslice, author of We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God

“Ever since I won The Next Food Network Star, Melissa has been my source of big-sister wisdom on everything from career roller coasters to motherhood surprises to Bible study. She was God’s sweetest gift to me—a sister to pray with before we walked onstage, buoying each other up in the choppy waves of television cameras, lights, and lots and lots of concealer! And so believe me when I say that the Melissa I know is the exact same Melissa you’ll find in this book. There is an intimacy, a vulnerability, and an ability to find dignity and holiness in the seemingly mundane act of cooking your family another dinner that I have grown to love and depend on over the past decade. Just a few chapters in, Melissa had already unraveled my own latent, long-held belief that my relationship with food is some kind of wild stallion to be tamed rather than an invitation from God to understand how he loves his children. By the end of the book, I found myself looking at food with new eyes—as sustenance not just for my body but also for my soul.”—Aarti Sequeira, chef, television personality, journalist, and author

“What we do with food is at the heart of who we are, and no one writing today understands this better than Melissa d’Arabian. In a voice unparalleled in its warmth, humor, and wisdom, she shares personal stories and insights that inspire the reader not only to create delicious food and the meaningful connections that shared meals generate but also to be attentive to what fresh pastures their own God-given longings may be calling them toward. In a landscape full of books about food, this one stands out: unpretentious friendliness wedded to serious expertise. Highly and warmly recommended.”—Rachel Marie Stone, author of Eat with Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food

“Melissa invites everyone to the table in her creative and rich book Tasting Grace. Fans will love the behind-the-scenes peek into her life experiences with food, and everyone will benefit from her inspiring take on what food is meant to be. Tasting Grace will start countless conversations about food and will have you thinking about your own food stories long after you put the book down.”—Richard Blais, chef, entrepreneur, and television personality