"Infused with personality, this thought-provoking work makes a tasty case for harnessing flavour to overhaul the food supply chain and add magic to all our meals"
An absolute peach of book (it really is), Franco Fubini’s In Search of the Perfect Peach comes heartily recommended for foodies, and folks who are interested in the intersection of culture, nature and fundamental human experiences.
At its heart is the idea that the pleasures and nostalgic power of flavour holds the key to fixing our broken food system through changing the way we grow food, shop for food, and consume food. Stimulating and sensuous, it’s written with all the storytelling verve of an accomplished travel writer, evoking places and tastes in almost Proustian detail from the outset when Fubini — CEO of a flavour-led fruit and vegetable supplier to many notable restaurants — shares his experience of tasting a Greta white peach for the first time: “Biting into it was like taking off on a rocket ship…the whole experience was otherworldly. Biting into a white peach…Well, that is pure joy”.
From this pivotal event in a Milan market, Fubini takes readers on an inspirational journey as he seeks to understand flavour. A journey of enlightenment that covers everywhere from Sicily and Sorrento, to Mexico City, Lombardy, and beyond, leading to him formulate the idea that flavour holds the key to fixing supply chain systems, along with enhancing all our meals.
Richly refreshing and powerfully persuasive — what’s not to love about the idea that epicurean pleasures can have positive environmental impact? — I devoured In Search of the Perfect Peach in one delicious sitting.
What makes a great-tasting tomato? Why do scarred greengages taste better? Is ‘eating local’ everything it’s cracked up to be?
The first bite of a perfectly ripe peach can be truly transformative – a joyful experience that stays with you forever. But, as Franco Fubini came to realise, flavour is a signifier of so much more than nostalgia. It has the power to change the way we grow, shop and eat – transforming the planet as well our palates.
From the citrus groves of Sicily to a knock-out taco in Mexico City, this is the story of how Franco’s pursuit of ?avour led him on a journey to understand how this incredibly simple desire can lead to radical change. Having spent over two decades as the founder of Natoora, sourcing amazing flavour for some of the best kitchens and most demanding chefs in the world, Franco brings together his intimate experience of the supply chain in a book that shines a light on how flavour has dropped off our plates and how we can get it back.
Through ?avour, a better future of food suddenly becomes possible: one in which we are not only closer to nature and to the people who grow our food, but where we are also actively building seasonal diversity back into our diets, putting nutritious food on our plates and restoring the health of our soils.
Franco Fubini offers us a deeply optimistic vision of how we, as consumers, can follow flavour to fix the food system and bring joy to our every meal.
Franco Fubini is the author of the new book In Search of the Perfect Peach, and is at the forefront of a fundamental revolution in the way we all eat. Founder and CEO of Natoora, his unique approach to seasonality and sourcing has been raising the bar on flavour for 20 years and is actively shaping the way both top chefs and consumers cook and understand food in London, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Malmo, New York, LA, Miami and Melbourne.
Driven by his belief that by engaging people with the real flavour of fruit and vegetables, we can collectively transform the way that food is being farmed and supplied, Franco has built a resilient supply chain founded on flavour, transparency and direct relationships. A professor of Sustainability Management at Columbia University in NYC, Franco is also a judge for the Food Planet Prize, the largest environmental prize in the world focused on food systems solutions.
