For more than 30 years, we have devoted ourselves to working in concert with extraordinary chefs from around the world, like Chef Jessica Biederman from the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, and Chef Daniel Sicilia from California Grill. We collaborate with them, having plenty of conversations about what they need in order to continue to create the amazing menus they do—and we’re beyond thrilled when a crop we grow really resonates with them.

“Functional foods” is a buzzword for a concept that has a long history. This term is being used for foods that can have a positive effect on a person’s health—meaning one that goes beyond simply providing him or her with basic nutrition. In other words, functional foods would be ones that help to promote good health while helping to prevent disease.

Okay, so we probably gave away too much information in our title. We get excited and do that, sometimes.

Edible flowers add extra layers of flavor and aroma to culinary dishes with intriguing variations among them. Some taste sweet, while others are sour. Some taste savory, while others are bitter. Some have an herbal flavor, while others are vegetal—and a few are essentially flavor-neutral with a more ornamental and textural purpose. No matter which of the edible flowers you use from The Chef’s Garden, though, they all add visual appeal and more to creative dishes.

If Bob Jones, Jr. and his farm team at The Chef’s Garden could receive one belated holiday gift, it’s that people would sit down and watch a fascinating series of short videos created by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): the Science of Soil Health Video Series. To help, this post will contain overviews from the first five of them, along with insights from our farm team.

The chef and farmer relationship is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re honored to share how two chefs use our kale varieties for dishes and menus.