Food writer Rebekah Lingenfelser to host book signing at Savannah Taste Experience

 She’s inspired by the Southern influences from her favorite chefs and cooks and her family influences

THE summertime means plenty of good food at family BBQs and new memories. I spoke with local author and chef, Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser, who will hold a book signing and food tasting at The Savannah Food Experience on June 30.

Lingenfelser is originally from Augusta, Georgia, but she moved to Savannah in 2016. She comes from a long line of great cooks—her family loves to cook and entertain. She was always surrounded by good food.

“You know, good times are always a central part of eating and celebrating with family. It's just always been part of my upbringing and the Southern hospitality is being a Georgia girl,” she says.

In January 2014, Lingenfelser appeared on the cooking show, The Taste. Initially, she had never considered being on a television show for food. One day, one of her friends posted an advertisement on her Facebook wall saying that the show was looking for applicants. Lingenfelser said she wasn’t going to do it, but she started looking more into it and thought about how fun it would be. She was selected to be in the top 35 contestants on the show.

“Contestants on The Taste Whet my palate for more of that and opened my eyes to the world of culinary entertainment. And so I got to cook for Anthony Bourdain, God rest his soul, and Nigella Lawson, who are some of the judges on that show, and they ate my shrimp and grits. And so that was exciting, even though I didn't make it very far on that show. But you know, flash forward a few years later, I was selected as a top 10 culinary personality on Food Network Star, which was a dream come true,” Lingenfelser says.

Three years before her appearance in 2017, Lingenfelser applied to be on Food Network Star. When she got the call, she said it was incredible that they followed up with her. She got the opportunity to travel to both LA and New York to film both of the shows. Her message to everyone would be to not give up on your dreams, and keep going forward. When you do what you love, success will come.

Lingenfelser continued to write for the food columnist for the Statesboro Herald. Last month, she celebrated ten years as a columnist for the Statesboro Herald. In addition to this, she was doing a lot of public events such as cooking demonstrations and going to the Farmer’s Market to cook. She made sure to keep her skill set and culinary arts strong and fresh.

Lingenfelser released her debut memoir titled, Some Kinda Good: Good Food and Good Company, That’s What It’s All About in 2019. The memoir features 26 recipes, stories of family traditions, and Lingenfelser’s culinary adventures being on TV.

At the book signing at Savannah Taste Experience, she will also be sampling spicy pimento cheese, which is a recipe from her memoir.

“I'll be there ready to meet everybody and just, you know, hang out from 11 to 3 on that Friday, June 30. And as I understand it, Savannah Taste Experience will have many tours coming through that day, so everyone that goes on a food tour or either just pops in the shop to do a little shopping can stop by and see me. And my book will be for sale there and I would love to sign them for all who come,” Lingenfelser says.

Next Friday will be Lingenfelser’s first event at Savannah Taste Experience, though this will not be her first time interacting with them: she used to do some freelance writing for them some time back.  

Lingenfelser says that Savannah is one of the most beautiful cities in the USA. Being on the beach and in the region with the wonderful local ingredients that the city has to offer inspires her. She loves to cook with what’s local and in season now. She’s also inspired by the Southern influences from her favorite chefs and cooks and her family influences.

While Lingenfelser loves many chefs, she said that one of her favorites is Chef Vivian Howard from Kingston, North Carolina. Another favorite chef of hers is Erin French, who has a restaurant called The Lost Kitchen.

“And then, of course, big names like Bobby Flay and Ina Garten. Those are all big influences as well, right? And you know, [Flay] ate my food and I got to know him a lot. When I was on Food Network Star, he was one of the judges on the show. It was incredible to be able to hear his feedback on my dishes like Jambalaya. He loved the acidity in the dish and he talked about how flavorful it was. Those were big compliments to me, which I have held dear to this day. It was very terrifying and exciting at the same time,” she says.

Lingenfelser says that she primarily works independently in the kitchen. She doesn’t mind when her husband is her sous chef if they are cooking dinner for their friends, but she prefers to be the head chef.

When asked about her favorite food to cook, Lingenfelser says that she loves making classic Southern cuisine that is coastal. She loves making fried green tomatoes with goat cheese or red pepper jelly.

One thing that keeps Lingenfelser cooking is how stress-free it is. She said that there’s endless creativity when it comes down to cooking. She loves the phrase “The more you learn, the more you realize you have to learn.” She started culinary classes at Savannah Technical College in 2016. She has seven more courses and plans to finish in December. As a child, she loved watching food TV and reading food magazines. She also has a huge cookbook collection.

“What inspired me to start everything in the food world and realm was a quote from Julia Child. She said to find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it. I have latched on to that and it has gotten me through some otherwise hard times. I just believe in it because when you do what you love, success comes and I think when you're interested in something you just have this insatiable curiosity about it, and it keeps you going, and there's just such a whole world of paths that you can go down with culinary arts,” she says.

Aside from cooking, Lingenfelser has worked in marketing and public relations for the past seventeen years. She said that she plans to combine that experience with culinary arts and plans to go into media and culinary entertainment. Her ultimate dream is to have her cooking show or work as a food editor for a leading magazine. She would name her show Some Kinda Good after her existing brand. It would highlight the local farmers and teach people how to cook what’s local and currently in season. She said she would also incorporate a little bit of music because one of her other passions is music.

Lingenfelser is looking forward to meeting new people and putting faces to names that might follow her on social media.

“So really looking forward to being a part of the Savannah Taste Experience and their new shop. As well as all that they have going on. They opened earlier this year and it's awesome to be invited to be a part of that. So I just want to say thank you to them. I hope that people will take away a great book and a good read and that they are excited to dive into cooking and reading, and hopefully, I'll make some new friends and have some fun,” she says.

She is currently working on her second book titled, Unique Eats and Eateries of Savannah. The book will come out in Spring 2024 and she’s very excited.