James Wong’s new book casts him as the Jamie Oliver of gardening, writes Sarah Feeley.
Anyone who’s ever winced through a mouthful of their own home-grown produce can learn how to supercharge their flavours thanks to James Wong’s new RHS book.
TV gardener James became an RHS ambassador last year, and he’s passionate about communicating plant science to new audiences in relevant and accessible ways.
So that explains why the look and feel of this book is very Jamie Oliver: colourful contemporary photography, playful design, bitesize chunks of text, an informal tone of voice and plenty of shots of our handsome hero author.
But this isn’t a case of style over substance. James studied at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, graduating with a masters degree in ethnobotany (the scientific study of the relationships between people and plants). He’s obsessed with plants, and has travelled the world undertaking field work in under-utilised crop species and traditional food systems. This book is packed with stats and science cleverly packaged to make it engaging and accessible.
James says a lot of standard gardening advice is geared towards the dogged pursuit of yield at the expense of flavour, and plagued by myths. He has trialled and tasted hundreds of varieties in a mammoth flavour experiment, and reviewed more than 2,000 global scientific studies, ‘translating the geek speak into a simple set of tips and tricks’, says the blurb. The Wong way involves less effort and input, he says, and this book includes 36 simple recipes to showcase your supercharged home harvests.
Don’t be put off by this ‘30-minute meals’-style approach. If it attracts more, new, younger gardeners, that’s all to the good – and there is solid science backing up this book.
(Mitchell Beazley, £20)
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