Which jar do you find yourself reaching for — and restocking — most often in your spice rack? Depending on the season and my current hyperfixation recipe, it’s either cinnamon, cumin, chili powder or garlic powder.

For two of the most savvy chefs in America, it’s more of a spice sleeper hit: fennel. True, the spice — as well as the bulbs that grow on the same plant — might not regularly get a lot of solo time in the spotlight. But fennel is something both Andrew Zimmern and Barton Seaver are so passionate about, they (playfully) fight over who deserves the crown of spice king.

“Oh, how we love fennel,” Barton wrote in The Blue Food Cookbook: Delicious Seafood Recipes for a Sustainable Future, which he co-wrote with his pal Andrew in collaboration with ocean food advocacy nonprofit Fed by Blue. “Andrew and I got into a little competition while writing this book, each boasting our bona fides as the true fennel king. Andrew even texted a few of his old colleagues asking them to serve as witness, bolstering his claim to the throne. We put fennel in everything.”

Since Barton held the pen during that chapter, we couldn’t resist calling up Andrew to offer him the mic. Turns out, about a year after the 145-recipe book’s debut, he’s still campaigning for the crown: “Sorry, Barton, but I’m the true fennel king. I've been using it longer!”

We think Andrew and Barton can share the title, as they both regularly use fennel seeds (which are harvested from flowers that grow on the plant’s stalks), fennel bulbs, feathery fennel fronds, as well as fennel-infused liqueurs like Pernod in their recipes. Why? Because “fennel adds a gorgeous accompanying and uplifting presence to seafood of every sort that truly helps all things salty, scaled and shelled to shine their brightest,” according to Barton.

Completely coincidentally, since before they even met, Andrew told us that he and Barton had been adding fennel seeds and black peppercorns in a 1-to-1 ratio to spice grinders to amp up recipes “on the regular. I've never known another chef who does that other than myself and Barton.”

After flipping through the pages of The Blue Food Cookbook, I certainly felt inspired to join them with that spice blend — and by stocking up on plenty of plain seeds and bulbs. In case you don’t have fennel seeds in stock at the moment, you can order them online from retailers like Spicewalla, Diaspora Co., The Spice House and Burlap & Barrel. You can find fennel bulbs and their conveniently attached fronds in the produce sections of most major supermarkets. (Look for it near the celery, leeks or herbs.)

Described by Barton as “charismatic” and “beguiling” with savory floral notes, you might be familiar with the seed as “the defining ingredient in Italian sausage,” Barton wrote. As for the bulbs and fronds, they deliver a flavor akin to celery with a whisper of anise.

The Blue Food Cookbook is overflowing with dozens of more ideas to make the most of the aromatic vegetable, its fronds and its seeds. Try:

• Tossing a handful of fennel seeds into a pot as you simmer a batch of homemade stock (go ahead, toss in fennel bulb odds and ends and extra fennel fronds, too)
• Using diced fennel bulb instead of onions in the sauteed base of sauces, soups and stews
• Showering any salad with fennel fronds
• Combining shaved fennel bulb with slivered green olives, orange segments, fresh lemon juice, red chile flakes, slivered almonds and fresh parsley or mint for a refreshing salad
• Deglazing a pan with Pernod (especially if you’re making something like mussels or bouillabaisse)
• Accenting soups and pasta recipes with toasted fennel seeds
• Infusing homemade chile crisp with fennel seeds to amp up the complexity
• Braising wedges of fennel bulb in stock, honey and butter before caramelizing them under the broiler

If you’re only going to make one fennel recipe for dinner tonight, Andrew said you should look no further than this Braised Veal Osso Buco With Fennel and Orange Juice, inspired by his friend Chef Michael Romano. “It’s one of my top 10 favorite dishes to make, bar none. Now that the weather is starting to cool in Minnesota, I can tell you I will be making that within a week or two and I can't wait,” he explained. “The recipe calls for two full fennel bulbs, cut into wedges and braised with the browned osso buco in orange juice. The result is absolutely out of control.”