Starting From Scratch: What You Should Know about Food and Cooking

Starting from Scratch is a manifesto on food that will help kids relate to what they eat, whether on special occasions or every day, inspiring both budding chefs and budding food lovers in the process. Beginning with an exploration of taste and the way it works, author and food activist Sarah Elton explains how ingredients have been on the move for centuries, resulting in the unique and fusion flavors we love today. She breaks down the science of food and cooking into bite-sized and easily digestible pieces of information that cover everything from the chemistry of heat versus cold, fat versus acid, and salt versus sweet.

Both practical and philosophical in its approach, Starting from Scratch demystifies food and cooking by boiling it down to the basics. Kids will be able to make sense of recipes, measure and substitute ingredients, and stock a pantry, but they’ll also discover that food is more than just a prepackaged meal. Using simple and universal examples, like how an onion is transformed when it’s boiled versus charred, caramelized versus fried, Starting from Scratch will inspire kids to eat better, try new flavors, and understand what’s on their plate.

Even readers who decide the kitchen isn’t for them will leave with an improved sense of where food comes from and be able to join in on a conversation that continues from snack time to dinnertime.

SARAH ELTON is an award-winning author and journalist who specializes in writing about food. Her book for children, Starting from Scratch: What You Should Know about Food and Cooking, was published in 2014 to wide acclaim. Her bestselling books for adults include Consumed: Food for a Finite Planet and Locavore: From Farmers’ Fields to Rooftop Gardens, How Canadians Are Changing the Way We Eat. Sarah was the food columnist for CBC Radio's Here & Now for more than a decade. She lives in Toronto. Visit sarahelton.ca and find Sarah on Twitter @SarahAElton.

JEFF KULAK is an Edmonton-born, Montreal-based designer-illustrator. From his studio, a converted room in a former nunnery, he creates art for books, magazines, album covers, and event posters.