France: ''World's most expensive vegetables'' grown just outside Paris
His land was not ideal for vegetable growing, but he says ''I did not want to change the earth, I wanted to understand it.'' He has 12 greenhouses and some open air plantations on his 3,000m2 plot. He grows 50 or so varieties - all Japanese!
Asafumi Yamashita goes to Japan every year to find seeds: Kabu turnip, daïkon radish, komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), spicy red radish, chrysanthemum, Kyoto red carrots...
Nick-named the 'haute-couture' vegetable grower, he says he would 'rather have less (vegetables), but have them beautiful and good!'. ''My vegetables are my daughters. Each one grows a different personality. I want them to obtain an optimal maturity''.
It took him 7 years to achieve ''suitable'' tomatoes and aubergines. He believes that his carrots are not yet perfect. Asafumi Yamashita only sells his vegetables to 7 clients - all starred chefs, including: Pierre Gagnaire (Hôtel Balzac), Eric Briffard (George V) Laurent Delabre (la Tour d'Argent) and Sylvain Sendra (Itinéraires). He delivers the produce personally twice a week, and has 'carte blanche' - the chefs must adapt to his products.
The vegetable grower says he has stopped working with Le Meurice and the chef Yannic Alléno, ''because I never saw him''. Yannick Alléno says ''I won't buy aubergines at the price of caviare! There are other producers who offer excellent products at much more reasonable prices''.
''Pierre Gagnaire tells me I have the world's most expensive vegetables'' says the vegetable grower with a smile. His prices are on average 3-5 times higher than those in the Ile-de-France region. This winter he sold his spinach for €25/kilo, 10 times that of the market price. As for his melons, they are ''juicier, sweeter'', and €70 a piece. He hopes to grow at least 10 this year. His rule is simple: he sells his vegetables to those who can afford them.