In Search of the Perfect Peach: Why flavour holds the answer to fixing our food system

WINNER OF GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS INVESTIGATIVE FOOD WRITERS AWARD

WITH A FOREWORD FROM TIM SPECTOR, author of The Diet Myth, Spoon-Fed and Food for Life

Radio 4's The Food Programme Book of the Year, chosen by Dan Saladino

‘This book is a passionate rallying call for a change of mindset…’ Mail on Sunday

‘A pioneering approach.’ ANNA JONES, cook and bestselling author of Easy Wins

‘By valuing and reclaiming flavour, Franco argues that we can transform the system and also enrich our relationship with food. Essential reading.’ DAN SALADINO, journalist, broadcaster and author of Eating to Extinction

Let flavour guide our food choices – and lead us to a better food future. In Search of the Perfect Peach shows us how this simple desire can bring about a healthier, tastier and brighter future for our food, the people who produce it and the soil it grows in.

That first bite of a perfectly ripe peach can be truly transformative – a joyful moment that will stay with you forever. For Franco Fubini, founder and CEO of Natoora, this encounter also leads him to realise that flavour is not simply a fleeting, visceral experience but a window into the farmer, a connection to our natural environment and a taste test for our food system.

What makes a great-tasting tomato? Why is scarring on a greengage a good sign? Does ‘eating local’ narrow our priorities to the exclusion of others? In Search of the Perfect Peach follows Franco as he navigates the food system in pursuit of this elusive element. As he takes us from Sicily’s citrus groves to the streets of Mexico City, he shows how we have allowed the wider industry to compromise on more than just flavour.

Franco’s search for the Greta peach culminates in his own clarity and conviction: by looking to flavour, we can unpick the industrialisation of our food production, restore nutrition and seasonal diversity to our plates and the craft of growing back to our landscapes. And, above all, we can find that perfect peach every summer.

‘This exciting and important book now brings Natoora and all its ingredients not just to restaurants like ours but … to everyone’s home.’ RUTH ROGERS, chef and co-founder of The River Café

‘An incredible read for those who love food and care about its future. In Search of the Perfect Peach is both a love story and technical guide.’ KYLE CONNAUGHTON, chef and owner of SingleThread Farm, Restaurant and Inn

Franco Fubini 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.