Eating Heaven

Sitting down at a table to eat is an activity so grounded in the ordinary, so basic to the daily routines of life, we rarely ponder it beyond the simple inquiry, ‘What’s for dinner?’ However, scratch a little deeper and you discover in eating one of the most meaning-laden activities of our lives, one so immersed in human longing and relationship that it takes on sacred dimensions.

A trained chef, teacher, social researcher, minister of religion and homemaker, Simon Carey Holt draws on experience and research to explore the role of eating in our search for meaning and community. To do so, he invites us to sit at the tables of daily life – from kitchen tables to backyard barbecues, from cafe tables to the beautifully set tables of Melbourne’s finest restaurants – and consider how our life at these tables interacts with our deepest values and commitments.

READER'S REVIEW:

Simon Holt's new book 'Eating Heaven' is an exploration of food, eating, hospitality, community and the ordinary in Australian life.

He writes, 'Raised in a close-knit working class home of father, mother and a busload of sons on the suburban edge of Melbourne, my most enduring memory is of family life around the table.'

...

One of the neatest features of this book is a recipe at the end of each chapter, which includes 'Mum's Chocolate Pudding,' at the end of which Simon writes, 'I have been known to add a few generous squares of good quality, dark and bittersweet chocolate...but don't tell Mum!'

He shares his own story, his love of food and its preparation, and his belief that the table is the locus of 'intimacy and family, identity and communication, reconciliation and romance, covenant and community, redemption and fellowship, sustenance and celebration, beginnings and endings.'

A great read.