In 1980, a hailstorm destroyed more than 1,000 acres of vegetables near the shores of Lake Erie, forcing the family who owned the farm to auction off nearly all their belongings. Their son, Lee Jones, returned home from college to help them set up a farm stand as they tried to rebuild.
One day, a French-trained chef from Cleveland stopped by and asked them if they could sell her some squash blossoms. Jones and his dad, Bob, had never heard of eating the flowers, but agreed to harvest some for her. She returned with more far-fetched requests, such as for radicchio and microgreens.
Intrigued, the Joneses began to dig deeper, experimenting with the most obscure seeds they could get. The family farm became The Chef’s Garden, a now world-famous center for agricultural innovation with Farmer Lee Jones at its helm. Its kitchen and event space, the Culinary Vegetable Institute, draws chefs from around the world to geek out over state-of-the-art popcorn shoots and perfect-tasting carrots. The renowned Washington, D.C., chef and humanitarian José Andrés brought his R & D team there in 2017 and, in the preface he wrote for Jones’ cookbook, describes the experience as “like my golden ticket to visit the Willy Wonka of chlorophyll himself.”
“The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables — with Recipes” (Avery, $60) is a 600-plus-page tome that leads readers through a wonderland of alliums, roots, edible flowers, and much more. Jones, who attributes his signature overalls and red bow ties to a passage in “The Grapes of Wrath,” weaves engaging stories through practical plant guidance; Jamie Simpson, the institute’s executive chef, translates not-so-practical restaurant creations into recipes within a home cook’s reach.
I’m not quite ready to try my hand at Sweet Potato Ice Cream Cones. But, I can count Broiled Cornish Hen with Onion Caramel, Sweet Corn Succotash with Crab, and Shaved Cucumber Salad with Cucumber Granita among my achievements thus far. I echo Jones’ guarantee to anyone flipping through these pages: “You’ll never look at vegetables the same way again.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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