'Fresh and local' is the way that more and more Canadians are shopping and cooking. We are all discovering that food produced by local growers, often using organic methods, are a far tastier and healthier alternative to out-of-season produce brought long distances to supermarkets.

Craig Flinn, owner and chef of Chives Canadian Bistro in Halifax, was an early and enthusiastic advocate of the fresh and local approach to food and cuisine. He has sought out and championed local producers, and worked with them to obtain a wider range of ingredients. He is a familiar figure at the Halifax farmers market. He has been a supporter and advocate of the 'Slow Food' movement in Canada. His restaurant menu shifts with the seasons, and features the full range of quality locally obtained seafoods, meats, vegetables and fruits.

Now in this cookbook he shares 150 of his best recipes featuring fresh and local ingredients. Allhave been carefully tested and adapted for home use. They range from enjoyable, tasty dishes that are easy to prepare to special elegant dinner party fare.

Great spring recipes include Fiddlehead Soup and Smoked Gouda Cheese Souffle; Caramelized Sea Scallops with Westphalean Ham, Swiss Chard, Lovage and Lemon Risotto; and Wild Blueberry Biscuit Pudding with Lemon Curd.

For summer Craig's suggestions include Cedar Planked Sea Trout with Hodge Podge; Garden Vegetable Fusilli with Smoked Tomato Sauce and Olives; and Plum Tartlet with Brown Sugar Ice Cream.

Among the fall harvest recipes are Simple Roasted Squash Soup, Apple, Cranberry and Star Anise Chutney; and Muscat Poached Pear and Goat Cheese Tartlet.

Winter recipes include with Fried Feta and Grilled Winter Vegetable Salsa; Smoked Bacon, Oka Cheese and Sweet Potato Gratin; and Warm Chocolate Cake with Bumbleberry Sauce.

CRAIG FLINN studied contemporary and classical cuisine in Europe, Canada, and the US before opening his restaurant Chives Canadian Bistro in 2001. He opened his second restaurant 2 Doors Down in 2013. He is a frequent guest on regional and national TV and radio shows talking about Maritime cooking. He is also the author of three previous cookbooks Fresh & Local: Straight from Canadian farms to your table, Fresh Canadian Bistro: Top Canadian chefs share their favourite recipes and Fresh & Frugal: Easy and affordable recipes for market-fresh local food. He lives in Dartmouth.

Craig Flinn's profile page

Food Network star Chef Michael Smith has been cooking professionally for over twenty years. An honours graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, Chef Michael's contagious love of food has earned him friends and admirers worldwide. His early career was spent in restaurants from London to South America, but in 1992 Chef Michael returned to Canada and joined the kitchen at Prince Edward Island's The Inn at Bay Fortune. Soon Chef Michael's focus on regional cooking and local ingredients had earned the restaurant a reputation as one of the top places to eat in Canada. Six years later, Chef Michael invited television cameras into the inn's country kitchen for his first hit television show, The Inn Chef, which premiered on the Life Network. Its popularity helped to launch Food Network Canada. After opening his own restaurant in Halifax, Chef Michael returned to Food Network Canada in 2001 in the show Chef at Large. It was followed by Chef at Home in 2004, which gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Chef Michael's home kitchen and the way he cooks for family and friends. This show became wildly popular almost immediately and still remains the highest rated Canadian show on Food Network Canada. Chef Michael is the author of three previous Whitecap cookbooks. Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn At Bay Fortune, published in 1998, won the bronze medal at Cuisine Canada's Cookbook Award. Chef Michael followed its success with The Inn Chef and Chef at Home: Cooking with and Without a Recipe,which has sold over 30,000 copies.

Michael Smith's profile page

"Fresh and local is the hottest culinary thing going"

The Coast