Tasting Grace

Discovering the Power of Food to Connect Us to God, One Another, and Ourselves

By: Melissa d'Arabian

Narrated by: Melissa d'Arabian

The winner of The Next Food Network Star season five and New York Times best-selling author of Ten Dollar Dinners shares how God used food to invite her into His love.

It wasn't until Melissa d'Arabian evaluated her relationship with food in light of her relationship with God that she began to appreciate food as not only a gift from him but also as a deeper invitation into his love. As she prayed, studied Scripture, and reflected on the stories from her own life, Melissa saw how God had used food to draw her into community, to redeem her moments of greatest tragedy, and ultimately to connect her more to him.

In Tasting Grace, Melissa shares 16 invitations that will transform your perception of food and the role it plays in your own life, from equality to connection to hospitality to stewardship and more. She explains how through her experiences, she learned to trust the ingredients - in recipes and in life - and join God in the act of creation.

Whether you are a mom struggling to throw together a healthy meal for your family each night or a single woman longing for fellowship around your table, you will draw encouragement and inspiration from Melissa's reminder that all food, first and foremost, is a gift from God. When you return to him as the source, you will find the freedom to enjoy his beautiful and delicious creation.

Advance praise for Tasting Grace

"What a beautiful book. Using stories of her own triumphs and pain, Melissa digs past the surface layers of food as we see it on television, in cookbooks, and on social media. Rather, she helps us think about it in a whole new way - as nothing short of a spiritual force, a vessel through which we can experience (and extend) compassion, comfort, fellowship, love, enjoyment, and grace. It has given me a brand-new lens with which to examine the deeper significance of the food I cook, eat, and share." (Ree Drummond, author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

"The intersection between faith and food is endlessly interesting to me, and Melissa articulates the significance and beauty of that intersection so well. Melissa is a great storyteller, and she invites us into her story and gives us a seat at her table with graciousness and wisdom. This is a lovely, meaningful book." (Shauna Niequist, New York Times best-selling author of Present Over Perfect and Bread and Wine)

"This is a beautifully written book. These aren’t just words on pages; they are an invitation to a feast, to hospitality, and to finding lasting purpose in your life. Melissa has set a table fit for a King, pulled our chairs, and reminded us there’s a place for us here. This is a book that will not only feed your imagination but also your soul." (Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody Always)

©2019 Melissa d'Arabian (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"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 the For 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)

Family, Food and Faith

Beautiful stories of family and food. I loved the biblical references too. Need to learn how to make Melissa's bacon onion tart! I love her support for AFSP.

Enlightening and so very touching

Hearing Melissa read this books makes it even more special! I received this book yesterday and spent all day reading it. I intended to read the first chapter and put it down but the author sucked me in from the very beginning, moving me to tears envisioning a very hungry Melissa when she was in elementary school with little or no food for lunch. Now I’m listening as Melissa reads her own words. Moving, delightfully written, inspirational and full of passion. I’m so grateful Melissa is here on earth to share her wisdom.

I loved this book.

Melissa D'Arabian speaks with such passion. You can hear the love she has for her family and for her work. A very insightful book with many spiritual views for leading a more graceful life. Thank you. loved it.