Written ‘live’ by Mark Diacono on Substack, and photographed throughout the year, each chapter builds the picture of an abundant year.
With his days distracted by the ping of communication and the tug of commitments, 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.
“The summer before last, I woke up with an idea for a book fully formed in my mind. Clear as a bell. Title, a short summary and some detail of what it would be: ABUNDANCE, a year of writing about what I eat, what my garden and the landscapes of this part of East Devon give me, a recipe, all written live, in the moment, once a week. It was burning a hole in me and I knew it had to be written,” explains Diacono.
Four weeks after writing his first instalment, four publishers made contact with Diacono, becoming immediately apparent that this had to be his next book. Eighteen months later, read by a community of 20,000, the result is ‘Abundance: A Year of Stories and Recipes from a Gardening Cook’, which follows Diacono’s magic formula of “one foot in the kitchen and one in the garden, with delicious punchlines throughout”.
Diacono’s book 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.
Abundance: A Year of Stories and Recipes from a Gardening Cook (Quadrille Publishing) will be released on the 28th of August, 2025.
