As a lifelong farmer, working in tandem with the cycles of nature is nothing new to the Jones family, including Lee. Some of these cycles are ones to anticipate with great pleasure, such as when the next season’s crops begin to emerge from the ground. Farmer Lee is also happy to see that some restaurants continue to reopen, navigating today’s unique challenges.

When you mine Google search data, it quickly becomes obvious that we’re a curious bunch of folks, with questions like these being asked regularly:

If the squash blossom is the darling princess of The Chef’s Garden, then asparagus is king. Heck. Asparagus might as well be the whole royal family.

In Europe, chefs almost always use white asparagus, rarely green. Because white asparagus beautifully offers up luscious notes of corn and sweet cabbage, we fully appreciate their love of this marvelous vegetable. European farmers mound soil over the asparagus plants to block the chlorophyll process, which creates the white color. But, these plants need to push hard through the soil and end up with tough outer skins that need peeled off. This adds labor (costs and time) to the mix, and then the most nutritious part of the vegetable is thrown away.

According to Inc.com, there are ten reasons why it’s important to create a happy workplace. For one thing, the article points out, happiness is contagious and can spread throughout an entire company. And, here another benefit: happy employees also tend to be the most successful ones. People who enjoy their work are “more productive, happier, and more successful. This increases self-confidence and inspires greater performance and greater success for both employee and employers.”

Yes, it’s that time again, the time when we all mull over what happened in the year that’s about to close and imagine what’s yet to come. And, at The Chef’s Garden, that’s exactly what Farmer Lee Jones has been doing: reminiscing over a fantastic year and envisioning how next year will be even better.