The Kitchen Bookshelf reviews

Vegetables by Mark Diacono

I am going to pay myself a huge compliment and say that

Mark Diacono

and I often quite simpatico in our work. We’ve both done books about the culinary joy of acidity (Sour / The Vinegar Cupboard respectively); we both run cookbook clubs that celebrate the varied wonder of food writing (Cafe Murano Book Club / this) and here we are again: both having published veg-centric books within a few months of each other. (His latest: Vegetables / my Seasoning )

You might think there is nothing all that special about that - aren’t there loads of veg books around? True, true. But ours come with a shared philosophy of embracing / enjoying / feeling the rhythms of the seasons, and just trying really hard to make it easier for all of us to make better choices on how we shop, cook and eat.

Mark is truly one of the best writers and people making cookbooks at the moment. I pick up Vegetables and find myself variously nodding in agreement, smiling, raising my eyebrows (in good surprise)… What I mean is that it is a book to stimulate thought and feelings - and hunger. Vegetables is as full of ideas as it is of deliciousness.

Vegetables - Easy And Inventive Vegetarian Suppers by Mark Diacono (published June 2024 by Quadrille)

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