Last week I wrote a post about The Merchant ATL, and in it I featured The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook by Chef Chris Fischer. I was intrigued by the beautiful cover design and an insatiable love for cookbooks, so I reached out to Chris Fischer. He provided me with one copy to review and one to give to a lucky reader, which could be YOU! Details at the end of the post.
The book arrived last week, and I've been totally intrigued by it ever since. The simple cover design says so much about the content of the book, which is about farm fresh ingredients from Martha's Vineyard and simple flavors. Chef Chris Fischer worked at NYC's Babbo Ristorante and St. John's Bread and Wine and The River Cafe, both in London. The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook chronicles a year Fischer spent on his grandparents's farm in Martha's Vineyard.
I wanted to learn how to farm from my grandfather... So I farmed days and made money nights as a private chef. I found it surprisingly easy to leave the field and have a meal prepared by sundown, because the ingredients here are so fine they are best almost left alone. I realized then what I had always instinctively known, that the food we grow, the fish we catch, the animals we hunt, and those we raise on grasses and flowers salted by the sea breeze are special because of this place.
During the year spent on the farm and because of his events as a private chef, he started hosting dinners on the farm, each of which he calls "a magical occasion." In 2013 he became the head chef at Beach Plum Inn & Restaurant. He managed the farm by day and cooked with the ingredients by night, using what he grew to inspire the menu.
Image from the Beach Plum Inn & Restaurant.
The recipes in The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook are recipes Fischer cooked and ate and prepared again over and over, making small tweaks each time. As much as I love the recipes, I love the stories, general cooking tips and photography just as much. Photographer Gabriela Herman's work in the book is breathtaking, and I'm a huge fan of hers. I will try out a few recipes this weekend and report back about how delicious they are.
To win the book, simply follow This Photographer's Life in Instagram, like the photo below, and tag one friend who you think would like The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook. Contest ends 10-22-15 at midnight.
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