Le Meilleur Du Potager: 200 varietes de Legumes d'hier et d'aujourd'hui

“I want to make vegetables a grand cru,” notes Passard, the great French chef, at the start of this tour of the farm that supplies his Michelin 3-star restaurant, Arpège. In claiming the designation used to mark many of France’s greatest wines, the chef, already known for his emphasis on vegetable cooking, is clearly bidding for even greater respect for the fruits of the earth.

In sections devoted to more than fifty kinds of produce, ranging from l’ail (garlic) to le yacon (an Andean root vegetable), Passard and Delvaux, a celebrated gardening writer, highlight cultivation methods, noteworthy varieties, and culinary and botanical history.

Although there are no recipes, for each section Passard provides a “note gourmand,” to suggest flavor pairings, preparation methods, or particularly successful dishes from Arpège that have featured the ingredient.

In French. Color photographs throughout. Hardcover.