Edible flowers – our latest venture

Edible flowers are all the rage*. They bring colour and interest as a garnish to all manner of dishes; they also add nutritional value and variety to our diets, benefitting gut health.

Beloved of the smartest chefs and Masterchef competitors though they may be, sourcing edible flowers (those that have been grown, harvested and packed to food-safe standards*) in quantities for use in our own homes can be tricky, especially if, like us, you insist on them being certified organic. That’s where our latest venture comes in!

Last winter – once our move into our new building was complete – we worked hard converting our old team room into a processing room with hygiene standards suitable for the commercial packing of edible flowers and cut herbs. Several trainees & staff members sat their Level 2 Food Safety in Food Manufacturing and we were delighted when our new facilities and our growing, harvesting and packing processes passed inspection.

This spring we launched our certified organic edible flower punnets for Abel & Cole, offering an ever-changing palette of colours and flavours, freshly harvested, packed and sent out in peak condition.

One of the very best things about this new enterprise has been seeing our trainees throw themselves into it, proving just how capable and competent they are. Mish has played a leading role, sometimes fulfilling entire orders on her own from start to finish. Kayleigh has also become a skilled member of the edible flowers team; Mandy supervises and works alongside the pair with occasional help from other team members for particularly large orders.

The decision-making involved in harvesting, hygiene, quality control, getting quantities right and ensuring the packed punnets are aesthetically pleasing are all tricky skills that the team has mastered.

Sometimes having a new commercial challenge – one that takes our trainees (not to mention staff!) out of their comfort zones and puts them under just the right amount of pressure – is just what we need for people to really prove themselves. We couldn’t be prouder.

*IMPORTANT: never eat flowers sold for ornamental purposes. Unlike most fruits and vegetables, flowers cannot be washed before consumption and non-organic flowers are likely to have residues of chemical sprays. Those grown outside of the UK and EU may have residues of chemicals banned in UK and EU horticulture and agriculture for safety reasons. Ornamental cut flowers are not grown, harvested, processed or packed to the hygiene and food safety standards required for edible flowers.