Toggle navigation

Tasting Grace

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

Melissa d'Arabian

Category: Women's InterestsBiography & AutobiographyCookingChristian Living

Start Reading Download Cover

About Tasting Grace

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 sixteen 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

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

About Melissa d'Arabian

Melissa d'Arabian was a corporate finance executive before becoming the host of Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners and Cooking Channel's Drop 5 Lbs with Good Housekeeping. She also developed the FoodNetwork.com seriesThe Picky Eaters Project, serves as lead judge on Guy's Grocery Games, and is the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook Ten Dollar Dinners. Melissa has an MBA from Georgetown University, and lives with her husband and their four daughters in San Diego.

Featured Videos

Book Trailer: TASTING GRACE by Melissa d'Arabian

Product Details

224 pages | Published by WaterBrook

On Sale Date: Sep 10, 2019

Trim Size: 5-1/2 x 8-1/4

Carton Quantity: 12

Sneak Peek

Read the first chapter of Tasting Grace. 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 sixteen 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.

News

Book Trailer: TASTING GRACE by Melissa d’Arabian

September 11, 2019

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 sixteen invitations that will transform your perception of food and [ … ]

Request a Review Copy Request an Interview

Media

Download Hi-Res Book Cover

 Download Hi-Res Author Photo

Press Release

Media Contact: Lisa Beech
lbeech@penguinrandomhouse.com, 719-268-1917



Food Network Personality, Celebrity Chef Melissa d’Arabian Talks Faith and Food in ‘Tasting Grace’


New York Times bestselling author invites readers to transform their food perceptions, connect more deeply with God in new book COLORADO SPRINGS, Co., July 2019—Food: sure, it’s a universal necessity but also the source of so much joy. Food Network personality and New York Times bestselling author of Ten Dollar Dinners, Melissa d’Arabian didn’t fully realize the depth and complexity of her relationship with food until she began the journey of appreciating food as a gift from God. In Tasting Grace: Discovering the Power of Food to Connect Us to God, One Another, and Ourselves (Waterbrook, Sept. 10, 2019), d’Arabian shares what she’s learned about food in light of her relationship with God and invites readers to transform their perceptions about food and the role it plays in their lives in order to experience a deeper connection with Him.
“Compassion, comfort, creation, authenticity, grace, patience, connection, nurturing, stewardship, humility, work, delight, acceptance, dependence, hospitality, and the sacred— these are gifts from God and characteristics of theological eating. But they are also something bigger and more important. They are invitations that God issues through food—invitations to lean more fully into him and to experience grace that is so delicious we can literally taste it, our deepest spiritual hunger satisfied.”
Known equally for her emphasis on faith and family as she is for her television programs and bestselling cookbooks, it was not until d’Arabian began her journey to explore what God has to say about food that she was prompted to write Tasting Grace. As she prayed, studied Scripture, and reflected on the stories from her own life, d’Arabian saw how God used food to draw her into community, redeem moments of tragedy, and ultimately connect her more deeply with Him.
Melissa is available for interviews and can speak to:


   • Food saved me: Melissa d’Arabian’s humble beginning and how God used food to


   • God made the world delicious for a reason: celebrating the joy of food
   • 5 things food taught me about God’s love
   • Food & love: how to bring joy back to the dinner table
   • 7 lessons we can learn from the meals Jesus shared
   • Why God cares about the food you eat
   • Longing for deeper connections? Your table may be the answer
In Tasting Grace, d’Arabian shares 16 invitations that will transform the way readers view food, from equality and connection to hospitality, stewardship, authenticity and more. Readers will be encouraged and inspired as they find the freedom to enjoy the gift of food— God’s beautiful and delicious creation—and drawn into deeper connection with our Creator.

“Wherever we are in life, whatever our faith may be, I know we are connected simply by the fact that we share the same world and we all eat,” writes d’Arabian. “My hope is that we can start a deeper conversation about food and its power to bring us together, draw out the best in us, and hear God’s voice in the midst of it all.”
About the Author
Embodying home cooking at its finest, Melissa d’Arabian naturally connects with today’s diverse families to offer unique yet relatable food and lifestyle solutions that are part of a bigger story about how to eat well, be a mindful consumer, and spend with purpose. d’Arabian won season 5 of “The Next Food Network Star”, subsequently hosted “Ten Dollar Dinners”, and is the New York Times bestselling author of Ten Dollar Dinners: 140 Recipes and Tips to Elevate Simple, Fresh Meals Any Night of the Week. Melissa and her family live just outside San Diego.
                                                                               ###

Contact Publicist

Other Books You Might Enjoy