Walk, Eat, Repeat: Culinary Adventures on the Camino de Santiago

by Lindy Mechefske

A fresh take on the Camino packed with the flavours of northern Spain.

In this deeply personal culinary travelogue, food culture writer Lindy Mechefske invites readers to join her in savouring the richness of the Camino. Returning to the most basic human needs — walking, eating, and sleeping — she rediscovers purpose at a time of change and transition.

Walk, Eat, Repeat recounts Mechefske’s arduous, yet fulfilling, pilgrimage on the Camino from the Pyrenees mountains to the ancient pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela. Inspired by her late father’s words, “soldier on,” she chronicles the highs and lows of the trail, the kindness of her fellow pilgrims, and the tortas, tartas, and tortillas, and other culinary highlights that she savoured along the way. With each chapter accompanied by a recipe from the region, Mechefske has not simply written a story of walking the Camino, but a tale of relishing the emotional intimacies and the epicurean delights of this ancient pilgrim path.

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Margi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delicious journey across Spain and into the writer’s heart.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read with a chilled glass of Spanish white in your hand. A beautiful memoir by a Canadian author. I even cooked some of the recipes she shares in this book - and they turned out great!

[Mardi Michels · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fellow food writer and someone who has walked the entire Camino myself (and blogged every day of it (see here: https://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/ta...) I devoured this book in one day.

Even though it's been 6 years since my first stage of the Camino and 2 since my last, I remembered so much of my trip through Mechefske's vivid descriptions (at the end she says that she didn't take many notes along the way, I can't believe she wrote this detailed recount based on scant notes like the ones she shared!!).

This is a very realistic depiction of what it's like to walk the Camino. Mechefske shares the ups and downs, the blisters, the pain, the hunger, and the need for a bus from time to time, but ultimately, this is a joyful novel that will make you want to book your trip tomorrow! If that isn't an option, she shares recipes at the end of each chapter you can make at home, bringing a little bit of the Camino to you.

For Camino enthusiasts but also for those who are interested in a well-researched story with delicious recipes.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read books like this so I can reap from other people's experiences and don't have to suffer through dorms with bunk beds and dubious bathrooms! Liked the emphasis on the food in this book as I have read 3 or 4 other accounts of Walks on the Camino, so it made a nice twist on the walk. Got some recipes I want to try, and I think Tinto de Verano is going to be my summer drink! Also when I was reading the author's acknowledgements, she thanked Nicola Ross, friend and mapmaker. I thought that name sounded familiar and realized I had her book 40 days & 40 hikes: Loving the Bruce Trail one loop at a time out from the library and scheduled to read next! It all dovetails!

[Jacques Ménard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a veteran of three surmountings of the Camino from SJPP to Rocesvalles and one complete Camino in the spring of the year Lindy completed hers I can say this this is the most authentic and re-inspiring recounting of the challenges one faces on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela I have yet to read. You may start your Camino but, once started, it never ends.

[Meghan Marcotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! Loved the telling of her experience walking the Camino, and how personal/honest the writing felt. By the end it started to feel a bit repetitive and it likely could have been wrapped up a little faster, but still a very interesting and informative read.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having walked the El Camino twice, this book title intrigued me if only to determine what was so good about Camino food which I always thought was the worst part of the adventure by far.

I enjoyed this walk down memory lane.

[Nada Loughead · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review at https://canadiancookbooks.ca/walk-eat...

[Nancy Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read lots of books written by people who have walked the Camino, and this is by far the one that best made me relive my pilgrimage and wish I was back there. And with recipes!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A soulful, personal, and culinary experience of walking the Camino!.

[Sara Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Well paced, honest, informative about the trail, makes you fall in love with Spain just like the author did. Bonus points for included recipes!

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it.....felt like I actually completed the Camino