John Edwards was raised on his family’s farm in England. After spending a decade in the advertising business, then producing several documentaries, he returned to his first love: farming. Since 1998, Edwards has been president of the organization Raw Inspiration Inc. and the company California Certified Farmers Markets, which collectively run more than 20 markets in Southern California. He’s also working with developer Saeed Farkhondehpour to develop the retail portion of the $125 million Medallion project in downtown Los Angeles. It’s called The Market, and Edwards has been working to reel in chef-driven restaurants, artisans, lifestyle retail and vendors for a twice-a-week farmers market. We spoke with Edwards about his food-centric lifestyle and how he makes time for the things he cares about.

Question: Describe your morning routine.

Answer: I wake up around 6 a.m. and read all the papers. I read the Los Angeles Times. I read the international papers. I eat my yogurt with oatmeal and fresh fruit. Then, on some days, I negotiate leases with developers and go over chefs’ menus, and on other days, I go out to the farms and talk to the farmers. It’s very enjoyable to see what crops are coming in. I’m not in an office. I have an office downtown but I am very rarely in it.

How do you achieve work/life balance?

I cook. I like cooking. I like gardening and nature and I like hiking. I like sport, but I had a car accident, so I can’t play squash. Instead, I swim. I’m going on my lunch break to swim in Pasadena. Then I’ll do paperwork at home in the evening. I work a lot, but I love my work. My work is creative, I think, and I enjoy it immensely.

What about your work brings you joy?

We have a market every day except Monday. So my week days are spent going to farmers markets. It’s a healthy lifestyle. These sort of artisan markets, I get great pleasure from organizing them and I think it’s the future. It helps young people start a business. Jam makers and kombucha makers get off the ground. They end up selling to Whole Foods, and you get to see them grow. It gives me great pleasure. Obviously, I want to make money as well. I’m a businessman.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I read books. I like biographies, history and architecture. I always read a book at night before bed. I like spy novels by Len Deighton, who also wrote a cookbook. I watch what you call soccer – football – as much I can. I collect old fashioned inkwells, which is a little bit of a hobby.

How do you make time for the people you care about?

I don’t have young kids anymore. My family is in Europe, so I talk to them on the phone. My best friend is my partner, Jennifer, who works with me. We go to restaurants. My life very much revolves around chefs and restaurants and food and the people who cook it. And what do people normally do to spend time together? They go out to dinner.