Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables

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Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons is accessible for the beginning cook to the master chef. His relaxed but carefully mastered view on vegetables brings out each of their rich and delicious greatness. I'm thrilled to see such a wonderful Pacific Northwest cookbook that can work for any region of the country and will make a great gift for anyone, no matter their food restrictions.   Recommended By Kim T., Powells.com

Joshua McFadden, a favorite here in Portland, is both a farmer and a chef. He brings us the best of both worlds by combining seasonal veggies with intriguing, full-flavored meals. He teaches us to cook like the chefs do: by embracing each vegetable in season and when the season is over, move on to the next tasty and timely veg. Six Seasons is a beautiful cookbook and one that will keep you from getting into a cooking rut. While this isn’t a vegetarian cookbook, the meat recipes are certainly in the minority. Oh yeah, six seasons? Summer is broken into three seasons, which, when you think about it, makes total sense.   Recommended By Tracey T., Powells.com

"Never before have I seen so many fascinating, delicious, easy recipes in one book....[Six Seasons is] about as close to a perfect cookbook as I have seen...a book beginner and seasoned cooks alike will reach for repeatedly." — Lucky Peach

The debut cookbook from Joshua McFadden, a chef with the soul of a farmer and the palate of a visionary.

Joshua McFadden, chef and owner of renowned trattoria Ava Gene’s in Portland, Oregon, is a vegetable whisperer. After years racking up culinary cred at New York City restaurants like Lupa, Momofuku, and Blue Hill, he managed the trailblazing Four Season Farm in coastal Maine, where he developed an appreciation for every part of the plant and learned to coax the best from vegetables at each stage of their lives.

In Six Seasons, McFadden channels both farmer and chef, highlighting the evolving attributes of vegetables throughout their growing seasons — an arc from spring to early summer to midsummer to the bursting harvest of late summer, then ebbing into autumn and, finally, the earthy, mellow sweetness of winter. Each chapter begins with recipes featuring raw vegetables at the start of their season. As weeks progress, McFadden turns up the heat — grilling and steaming, then moving on to sautés, pan roasts, braises, and stews. His ingenuity is on display in 225 revelatory recipes that celebrate flavor at its peak.

"Joshua [understands] vegetables from the perspective of both a farmer and chef. His mouthwatering and terrific solutions...get the most out of vegetables from their beginning to their last act on our plates." David Chang, chef/owner of Momofuku

"Joshua McFadden has the soul of a farmer, and his recipes are beautifully in tune with the seasons and the land." Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse

"This is not a cookbook for coffee tables or artfully curated bookshelves! Its recipes demand to be tasted until the pages are dog-eared and sauce-splattered and stick together. Compulsory for the home cook." Dan Barber, chef/co-owner of Blue Hill

"Essential techniques that can help cooks become better at preparing seasonal and local vegetables....Attractive vegetable recipes range from brightly colored raw and cooked salads to indulgent appetizers, pastas, and baked goods. Under McFadden’s tutelage, cooks will learn how to bring out the best in every humble vegetable." Library Journal (Starred Review)

"A must-have cookbook that stands out from the crowd of vegetable-centric cookbooks....This cookbook deserves to become a well-thumbed, vital addition to any kitchen." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables is poised to join the veggie canon....The flavors are big....They’re also layered and complex, despite their apparent simplicity. What will really change your cooking is [McFadden’s] approach to seasoning....Trust me: Read this book and you’ll never look at cabbage the same way again." Bon Appétit, 11 Spring Cookbooks You’ll Actually Cook From

Joshua McFadden is executive chef/owner of Portland, Oregon’s Ava Gene’s, which Bon Appétit has named a "Top 10 Best New Restaurant." Before moving to Portland, McFadden helped define the burgeoning Brooklyn food scene when he was chef de cuisine at Franny’s; his other restaurant experience includes Momofuku, Blue Hill, and Lupa in New York and the groundbreaking raw food restaurant Roxanne’s in Larkspur, California. McFadden also spent time in Rome, cooking at Alice Waters’s project in sustainable dining at the American Academy. He kindled his love of soil, seeds, and seasons during two years as farm manager at Maine’s Four Season Farm, founded by sustainability pioneers Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch. McFadden’s latest restaurant, Tusk, opened in Portland, Oregon in 2016.