nutty, spicy, sweet, melony. The f lowers are harvested at maturity and used as décor in baking or as a creative addition to salads, fresh f ish, mixed drinks, tea, vinegars, dressings, cheeses and butter, and can be scattered as a topping for just about any type of food. Sasuga acknowledges most people don’t realize many f lowers are edible. “It is often overlooked that broccoli, cabbage and even artichokes are actually f lowers. Many common garden f lowers are indeed edible,” he said. Flowers as food Sasuga was working at his nursery, growing tomato and other specialty vegetable seedlings for farmers and ranchers in the mid-1990s, when a chef from an upscale restaurant came in for tomatoes and was excited by the tiny basil seedlings he saw. He wanted to use the micro- sized plants to garnish his plates and add a touch of f lavor. Sasuga was skeptical at first, he said, wondering why the chef wouldn’t want full-sized basil. “But it was their unique, micro-size appearance that was special and appealing. This was what excited him most and was the spark that was the inspiration for growing these tiny greens for restaurants,” said Sasuga, who transitioned his nursery from vegetables to
A farm-to-fork family affair Though many chefs and farmers in this particularly fertile state enjoy close working relationships, the ties between Lee and the founder and an owner of Fresh Origins, David Sasuga, run deeper than most: They happen to be brothers-in-law (Sasuga is married to Lee’s sister, Julie), as well as former colleagues. When Lee first moved to California from South Korea in 2010, he found a foothold working with Sasuga at Fresh Origins, before deciding to pursue a culinary career and working in several Japanese restaurants to learn the business. Lee and his wife, Jenny, opened Umami in 2018, with support from his sister and Sasuga, who remains a trusted advisor. Sasuga is no stranger to the restaurant business. The tiny, yet colorful and f lavorful f lowers he grows on his 80-acre farm in San Marcos are featured on the menus of restaurants and resorts across North America and the Caribbean. That adds up to lots of edible f lowers. In addition to outdoor gardens, 32 acres of greenhouses are employed in Fresh Origins’ year-round operation. On these grounds, about 60 different varieties of f l ow e r s a r e g r ow n , i n c l u d i n g m a r i g o l d , chr ysanthemum, pansy, viola , na stur t ium and orchid. They of fer a variety of f lavors: peppery,
Among the flowers grown by Sasuga are Micro Marigolds, above, and Sage Flower Monet Pink, left. Sasuga grows marigolds in pots, right, rather than in the ground because he finds that method easier to manage.
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