Winner of the 2014 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards for Book of the Year and Best First Book, The Julia Child Award.

Located in the heart of the beautiful Sonoma Valley in California is Stone Edge Farm, a sixteen acre Eden where nature is lavishly and lovingly nurtured. Here, John McReynolds prepares simple food harvested just steps from his kitchen or obtained from nearby ranches, fisheries, and food artisans. What kind of chef cooks simple food, the author asks in his opening chapter. His one who spends more time sourcing good ingredients than cooking them. In lyrical introductions to each chapter and recipe, McReynolds describes how he uses a cornucopia of foods to create sophisticated, healthful dishes. Along with more than a hundred approachable recipes, many including stand alone recipes for sauces and dressings, McReynolds conveys the sense of responsibility that drives this demonstration farm and wine estate, championing an integrated approach to food, our world, and our place in it. If you meet only one chef this year in the pages of a book, make it the personable John McReynolds.

Seems like every chef today touts the use of local, seasonal, ethical ingredients. John McReynolds was a pioneer of this philosophy long before it became a chic chef mantra. This beautiful book showcases his amazing cooking talents and introduces us to one of the most special working farms and vineyards in the world. The book is uniquely organized according to what the farm produces, and weaves together the special synergy that emerges when the cook, the farmer, and the winemaker work together. His Nine Principles of Cooking should be part of everyones early education, whether you are a home cook or a professional. It is the best summary I have seen of what it means to eat mindfully and joyfully.

John Ash, chef and James Beard Award winning cookbook author.