“Long before organics became trendy, John Bishop and his chef Dennis Green would meet with Fraser Valley farmers Gary and Naty King while the ground was still frosty to determine what vegetables the farm would grow for the restaurant. You get a real sense of the green-gold cycle of the edible year in Fresh… as Bishop, Green, and pastry chef Dawne Gourley set out successive seasons of recipes interwoven with Gary King’s stories of farm life.”

“Bishop has become a larger-than-life player on the local organic scene, greening his menus and tirelessly trumpeting the superior quality of local organic crops and meats produced primarily in the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. …The reason is simple… Food that is locally and organically frown is always fresher and tastes much better… Fresh is a reflection of Bishop’s metamorphosis into the Green Giant…”

John Bishop Wins Vancouver Magazine's Inaugural Green Award. According to the magazine “Bishop’s established itself as the model of how a restaurant can thrive by stressing hospitality, cultivating local sources and paying close attention to what’s freshly available and when.”

“At today’s top restaurants, ingredients are the stars, not the chefs, not the owners, not the celebrity diners. And as corollary, the producers of these ingredients are edging into the limelight. …Hazelmere Farm was a big part of that transformation and the recently-released Fresh, Bishop’s fourth cookbook, celebrates his relationship with the farm.”

“From the single, perfect beet decorating the cover through the sautéed shiitake mushrooms topping up crisp spinach to spears of gleaming roasted parsnips and beets, this is a cookbook of tempting West Coast favourites that we easterners can share.”

“restauranteur John Bishop, along with Dennis Green… have put a refreshing twist on that old formula with their newest book. …The twist is that Bishop and Green have divided their culinary year into three broad “seasons”, rather than four… to reflect the patterns of farm harvests and natural growth cycles…”

“Seasonal ingredients inspire Bishop’s simple menus, and recipes showcase the garden’s bounty in its almost-naked glory. No gastro-porn here, just simple, pared-down preparations that let the natural flavours shine through. Fresh takes us into the garden and inspires us to bring the harvest home to our tables.”

“To Bishop, it seemed only natural to focus on our own local bounty and to make the most of foods in season. But in those early days, neither he nor any other chef ever gave much thought to how many miles an ingredient had been flown or trucked in, or how that would ultimately impact the environment. For Bishop, all that changed 14 years ago when he struck up a friendship with two organic farmers in South Surrey.”

“Fresh is a very accessibly compilation of recipes from Bishop’s restaurant, interspersed with lovely essays about seasonal activities on the farm, written by Gary King.”

“John Bishop is a gentleman. His congeniality and charm have served him well in the operation of one of Canada’s most highly regarded restaurants…”