She Sells Edible Flowers

She sells edible flowers AG WORLD Ag World 17-1-17 Business is "blooming" for an Ohio woman who's capitalizing on. the fact that first class gourmet restaurants all over the world now say no meal is complete without a few edible flowers on the plate. Wendy Fisher of Gibsonburg caught onto the new trend early and now makes a living selling flowers and gourmet vegetables and herbs to restaurants all over the U.S. Chefs from prestigious clubs across the country, such as the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., call Wendy with their requests and she then ships out the flowers and blossoms needed. Fisher stumbled onto the fragrant enter-prise four years ago when she and her husband started marketing herbs part time to local consumers. When looking for more markets so she could stay home full-time with her two daughters, she and her husband Willie decided to get into the flower business and contacted specialty food brokers to see what varieties were needed. The edible favorite of chefs are fuchsias because they add lots of color yet won't wilt on a hot plate, which is especially important at banquets where plates are made up ahead of time. Flower blooms are also widely used in salads. Fisher says anyone with a garden can grow flowers for the table. Nasturtiums, for instance, are ever-bearing, producing edible blooms all summer long. Other tasty blossoms include pansies, snapdragons, roses, dianthus, johnny-jump-ups, geraniums, mums, and calendula. Some flower blossoms are virtually tasteless. Others have sharp flavors such as begonias, which have a tart citrus taste, and calendulas, which taste a little like saffron. She gets most of her seeds from specialty catalogs, ordering some from as far away as France. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wendy Fisher, Fisher Herbs, Rt. 6, Gibsonburg, Ohio 43431.

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