Will the Micro-vegetable revolution combat cancer?

'Look," he says, stroking the wispy tendril of a pea plant. "It's so beautiful. It brings tears to your eyes." There are perhaps few people in the world who could be so moved by one small plant among many thousands in a warehouse. But Rob Baan has good reason. From Hackney to Hawaii, chefs, caterers and cocktail specialists look to the bespectacled Dutchman for his botanical discoveries and innovations.

Baan has been the catalyst for many food trends over the years, including micro herbs and pea shoots (pick them up in your local Tesco and Morrisons). But you probably haven't heard of him or his business. He deals directly with the trade – if you can call celebrity clients such as chef Ferran Adrià mere trade – and Koppert Cress, which he took over in 2002, grows more than 60 weird and wonderful ingredients: Sechuan Buttons, for instance, a yellow flower bud that numbs the tongue; and BlinQ Blossom, a plant whose sparkling leaves appear encrusted with crystals. Bestsellers include more than 30 varieties of micro cresses: tiny, nutritious seedlings packed with flavour (some ready just a few days after germination). All of which makes it hard to resist the temptation to call the 59-year-old the Willy Wonka of edible plants.