The award-winning chef shares seasonal, rustic, and Spanish-inspired recipes featuring 18 heroically health-boosting foods.

After being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Seamus Mullen discovered how incorporating eighteen key ingredients into his cooking improved his quality of life. InHero Food, he shows how to make these key ingredients, or "hero foods," your cooking friends; they can be added to many dishes to enhance health and flavor.

Hero Foodis divided into four sections, each devoted to a season. Each season is introduced with personal reflections that provide context for Seamus's imaginative recipes. The "heroes" of these recipes are real, elemental foods such as good meat, good birds, eggs, greens, grains, and berries. Foods like these will not only improve your wellbeing, but also infuse your meals with rich and satisfying flavors.

Raised on an organic farm in Northeastern Vermont, Seamus Mullen learned early on the value of working with the land to bring a meal to the table. It was while living and studying in Burgos, Spain, that he developed a life-long love affair with the country's language, culture, and food. Following his passion for food, Mullen moved to California to work with Chef Mike Fennelly at Mecca in San Francisco, where he was exposed to the bounty of West Coast seasonal produce. After relocating to New York City, he went on to open Crudo, where he conceptualized and created its Mediterranean-inspired menu. In 2003, Mullen returned to Spain and worked for six months at Mugaritz, Andoni Luis Aduriz's forward-thinking Michelin two-starred restaurant in the Basque country. When Mullen returned to New York, he worked as executive sous chef at New York City's Brasserie 8 1/2, alongside executive chef Julian Alonzo. In 2006, he left to open Boqueria, an accessible Spanish tapas restaurant, and then expanded to Boqueria Soho in fall 2008. He plans to open Tertulia in the West Village in Fall 2011.