How do their gardens grow? On Prince Edward Island, very well indeed.

The first course, pan-roasted oysters in a soothing soup, was creamy but not nearly as rich as a New England chowder. Then came a splendid salad of mixed greens and a waiter announcing matter-of-factly that ''everything on the plate is grown on the property, including the edible pansy." A seared rainbow trout topped with tomato risotto and black olives was picked to the bone by our table of four, only to be followed by a zesty roasted leg of lamb, butchered by the farmer down the road. For dessert, a peach, strawberry, and mint compote, made on premises, of course.

Before leaving I had to meet the talented chef who had shrewdly taken advantage of these homegrown goodies.

Standing tall in the kitchen was Michael Smith, a transplant from Manhattan who formerly worked as sous chef at Bouley, one of the few restaurants in the city awarded four stars by The New York Times. When he left New York, his colleagues thought he was crazy, but Smith knew he was headed to a farming and seafaring mecca. The gregarious chef pointed to a large map of Prince Edward Island, dotted with more than 60 yellow tacks. ''These are all the fishermen and farmers around the island that we use to get our supplies," he said, adding ''when we don't grow it ourselves." Bouley schmouley, I remember thinking to myself. This guy had struck the mother lode.

When I returned to the inn last fall after six years away, I was happy to find the treasured gardens much more expansive. After the success of his television show, ''The Inn Chef," on the Canadian Food Network, and the release of his best-selling cookbook, ''Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn at Bay Fortune," Smith relinquished his cooking duties at the inn but still holds the title of chef emeritus. And according to new chef Renée Lavallée, Smith can often be found bending his lanky frame over the herbs in the garden as he plucks, say, one of the 12 varieties of thyme.