Five books a local food champion couldn’t live without: Todd Darling’s must-reads for a desert island
On the Homegrown Foods founder’s list is the book that opened his eyes to how food choices affect the planet, a second world war epic, a Stephen King classic, and titles that reflect his fascination with photography
Todd Darling, a pioneer of the “locavore” (local food) movement in Hong Kong, is from New Jersey. He got his first job in the food industry at the age of 17, working in an Italian restaurant in New York. He continued to work in the business while later studying at the University of Vermont.
After dropping out of university and following a girlfriend to Amsterdam, he returned home and got a job as a restaurant manager. He came to Hong Kong in 2003 to manage Red Bar and went on to run several venues under the Pure Group.
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In 2008, he set out on his own and set up Homegrown Foods. Today the business owns and operates five venues in three cities (including Posto Pubblico and Linguini Fini in Hong Kong), as well as a pioneering organic farming initiative in Hong Kong.
Here are the five books Darling would take to a desert island, in his own words.
The Americans