When renowned Chef Michael Smith starts talking about his Culinary Farm at his Inn at Bay Fortune in P.E.I., you can hear the excitement in his voice. He says his three-hectare culinary farm was the inspiration for his new cookbook Farmhouse Vegetables: a Vegetable-Forward Cookbook (Penguin Random House).

The culinary farm supplies all the produce for Smith’s FireWorks Restaurant at Inn at Bay Fortune. The farm part of the property features several greenhouses, an experimental garden, a mushroom patch, apple orchards, and immersive forest trails.

“The goal is to achieve sustainable, regenerative agriculture,” says Smith. “There are 47, or is it 56, raised beds cascading down our property. Just being surrounded by all that is wildly inspiring, and that’s what we set out to highlight in the book.”

Farmhouse Vegetables is a hefty hardcover cookbook packed with vegetable-forward recipes. Asparagus, beets, spinach, leeks, zucchini, corn, sprouts, squash;  you will find recipes for these vegetables and more. A few must-try dishes include Asparagus Dill Frittata, Cauliflower Mac ‘n Cheese, and Pan Roasted Cauliflower, Leek and Apple Cinnamon-Crusted Pork Tenderloin.

“This is not revolutionary or new, but I hope that people will be inspired to eat more vegetables,” says Smith. “What’s the message? Eat more vegetables!”

The chef has two tips to encourage that: “Strive for diversity. Strive to add one new vegetable every month. Go to a farmers market or fresh market where you can look someone in the eye who grows the vegetables. Just watch how that changes your respect for cooking vegetables. Then look at the book and find what resonates.”

Farmhouse Vegetables is the 12th cookbook from Smith, who’s also a member of the Order of Canada, Prince Edward Island’s Food Ambassador, and former Food Network host and judge.

Michael and his wife Chastity bought and renovated the Inn at Bay Fortune 10 years ago. It’s a family affair, as children Gabe, Ariella, and Camille all pitch in.

“When we bought the place, we set off with this grand plan and the idea was, we are going to grow everything we serve, we are going to make a farm, and we are going to cook it all with live fire,” explains Smith.

On that journey, he’s learned a lot.

“Through all that work we’ve come to understand the power of shared communal experiences,” he adds. “And that goes with the values that came with me from all those years of cooking for my family, my friends, and travelling the world. The best times were having fires in my backyard with all my buddies around. That’s what Chas and I wanted to express through the restaurant. The property is enormously successful, and 100 people work with us each summer … We have figured out how to have a good day ourselves and then share that day with our guests.”

Each year, Smith and his culinary team host a FireWorks Feast from mid-May to October. The innovative and immersive dining experience has become one of the region’s top farm-to-fork culinary experiences.

“The FireWorks Feast begins at 4 p.m. with a tour,” says Smith. “When guests arrive at the Fire Garden, they enjoy a one-hour tasting. There’s every kind of fire known to man, we have 15 different types of fires out there. There are drink stations, app (appetizer) stations, a taco bar, and oyster hour featuring fresh oysters from the bay right in front of the restaurant. Last year we shucked 65,000 oysters.

“Then we all come together and raise our glasses and sit down for an epic seven-course feast. That’s of course communal, sitting at long butcher block tables overlooking Bay Fortune. The evening concludes with fireworks and homemade marshmallows on the front lawn. It’s an epic culinary experience that guests will always remember.”

Although the renowned chef has travelled the world on his culinary journey, he says home is his happy place. Chef Smith returns to television with the launch of his new series called Chef on Fire with six episodes airing on Bell Fibe TV. The new series focuses on the food, festivities, gardening, and life at Inn at Bay Fortune as Smith proudly shares a slice of P.E.I. paradise with viewers.