Mark Diacono for Abundance: Eating and Living with the Seasons

Mark Diacono on Abundance: Eating and Living With the Seasons

Slow down, observe the subtle changes of the seasons, and see delicious meals emerge week by week with Mark Diacono.

Abundance is a record of one man's year living on the south-west coast of England as he quietly contemplates life, nature and his next meal.

With his days distracted by the ping of communication and the tug of commitments, Mark Diacono wondered how he might better savour this one precious life. He started to write and photograph each week, hoping that this simple commitment might sharpen his appreciation of the magic in the everyday and his time spent in the kitchen. It reminds us that abundance comes in many forms - the passing of the seasons, our connection to the world around us, and the wealth that a garden, a town and its surrounding landscapes offers.

With over 80 recipes like Early summer shakshuka, Salsify and radicchio gratin, Onion seed and oregano flower focaccia, Fig leaf and olive oil ice cream, and a Mulberry martini, there are dishes to inspire and satisfy every week as the year unfolds before you.

Mark Diacono is lucky enough to spend most of his time eating, growing, writing and talking about food. He has written a number of award-winning books, including A Year at Otter Farm and A Taste of the Unexpected (which both won Food Book of the Year for Andre Simon and the Guild of Food Writers, respectively), Sour (which was Food Book of the Year 2019 in The Sunday Times and Daily Mail, and nominated for a James Beard Award in the US), Herb and Spice. Known for growing everything from Szechuan pepper to pecans to Asian pears, Mark's refreshing approach to growing and eating has done much to inspire a new generation to grow some of what they eat. Mark has a monthly column in The Sunday Times and writes regularly for a range of publications including The Telegraph, Delicious, and Country Life; his features have appeared in The Observer, Guardian, National Geographic, and others. He runs the Cafe Murano Book Club with Angela Hartnett, and speaks and demos at food festivals around the UK. Mark originally wrote Abundance as a serialisation on his engaged Substack, Mark Diacono's Garden to Table, for which he won the Garden Media Guild Digital Gardening Writer Award 2024.