When I first flicked through Todd Selby's book, Edible Selby, I was really at a lost to what to think about it. I could understand that people are fascinated in food, and that we want to feel we are living in the period of time where we achieve of 'haute' gastronomic endeavours, but I wanted more. I felt a little cheated at what seemed to be on offer in the book.

As I had misgivings about the book while my wife loved it, I thought I must be missing something. I knew I enjoyed the style and the imagery, so I dived back in to see if I could appreciate what Todd had offered us. Please to say, in taking a bit longer in understanding the businesses that Todd brings us, the anecdotes and cheeky jibes are a reflection on how we see life.

Given that food and the food trends are the new religion of many ‘foodies’, the book is a bit like a bible to the best of sustainable food businesses around the world. We can think of it as a directory of interesting foodie places and people that care about the source of their ingredients and how they prepare their food.

So, what will you find in this foodie guide? Well, there are 43 trendy food businesses listed. So, like Mission Chinese Food, are quite left field, while others, as in Noma or D.O.M. are very much the trendy, upmarket restaurants. Also, Todd introduces us to businesses like the Nordic Food Lab and Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company, which are doing something unique on the foodie front. Those looking for recipes will find recipe ideas included, some at the end of some of the reviewed businesses, and a handful from Todd at the end of the book.

While this book is not for everybody, it will appeal to those foodies, to whom the experience of off-beat and different brings excitement and pleasure. The candid nature that Todd presents about the each business takes us right into the heart of them, allowing us a glimpse that would be missed by merely visiting as a customer.