200 Years in the Making: Stark Bro’s Releases Fabulous Fruits Cookbook

Louisiana, MO, December 17, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Stark Bro’s Nurseries & Orchards Co., the world’s oldest continuously-operating nursery, has published its first cookbook. "Fabulous Fruits: Recipes for every season" goes on sale December 15, 2015 at http://starkbros.com.

“Each year we ship nearly 500,000 fruit trees and plants to gardeners across the country,” says Cameron Brown, company president and CEO. “We also each them how to grow successfully. Now they have a gourmet cookbook that’s full of ways to help them enjoy and preserve their harvest.”

Brown commissioned author/chef Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley and photographer Curt Dennison to create a recipe collection with fruit as the starring ingredient, a fitting tribute to the company’s upcoming 200th year in business. Stark Bro’s customers have repeatedly requested ideas for cooking and preserving their homegrown fruit, and they now have a resource in Fabulous Fruits.

Ms. Stoeckley — an author, restaurateur and classically-trained chef — found inspiration for the book from family recipes, ideas she developed while teaching cooking classes in France and even from the Stark Bro’s customers themselves. Sprinkled throughout the book are the winning fruit recipes from a contest Stark Bro’s promoted in 2015.

The seasonal collection covers all courses, from beverages to entrées and desserts, each highlighted with coffee-table photography by Curt Dennison. A sampling of the contemporary-American recipes includes:

Plum Tart with Goat Cheese
Raspberry-Ginger Muffins
Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples
Apple Pudding Cake
Spiced Pear Butter

Fabulous Fruits (Hardcover, ($29.99, Acclaim Press, 176 pp.) is available through the Stark Bro’s catalog and website (http://StarkBros.com), independent garden centers and in major online bookstores. All copies sold through Stark Bro's are autographed.

About Stark Bro's
Stark Bro's Nurseries and Orchards Co., founded in 1816, is a grower and distributor of fruit and nut trees as well as grape vines, berry plants and other horticultural products. Stark Bro’s is synonymous with the Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples, which account for nearly 60% of all worldwide apple production. It is the world’s oldest continuously operating nursery. Stark’s corporate offices, retail Garden Center, main test orchards and nurseries are located in Louisiana, Missouri. Nursery stock is also grown at branch locations in Illinois and New York. The company serves both consumers (through its website and catalog) and commercial buyers (through its Commercial Sales division). For complete information, please visit http://StarkBros.com.

About Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley
Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley is a caterer, executive chef, food writer and former restaurateur. Most of Karen’s adult career has been devoted to creating good food to feed family and friends as well as professionally cooking for restaurant guests. In 2012, she spent seven months in Les Arcs sur Argens, France, creating her first major cookbook, Culinary Legacy…from Escoffier to Today (also photographed by Curt Dennison). She returns to France each spring/summer to teach cooking classes, focusing on Provençal cuisine. Contact Karen directly at: (573) 470-0742 or e-mail at livininprovence@yahoo.com.