Kidney beans, water spinach, Malabar spinach, komatsuna, Japanese turnips, daikon, and pak choi. In Blois (Loir-et-Cher department), Masato Fujisaki is determined to make Asian vegetables more widely available.
"I realized that it was technically possible"
After studying landscape design and spending a year in Japan, Masato Fujisaki, who is French and Japanese, returned to France with the idea of growing and promoting Asian vegetables in France. Meeting several French producers of Asian vegetables reinforced his commitment to the project. "I realized that it was technically possible," he explains. On his 2-hectare farm (including 1,500 m² of greenhouses and 6,000 m² of open fields) called Les Légumes de Masato, Masato Fujisaki now grows around 50 varieties, including traditional vegetables, all organically. The project was made possible thanks to a three-year trial at the Blois horticultural college, a test site that allows project leaders to start their business with all the necessary equipment at their disposal. "This scheme is particularly suited to my situation because there is little agronomic information available on Asian vegetable production in France. I have also been able to test different marketing channels," explains Masato Fujisaki, who is starting his seventh season as a producer and his fourth on his land.
"We need to keep up with the demand"
A
lthough Asian vegetables have been attracting more and more French consumers in recent years, their use in the kitchen is still largely unknown, according to Masato Fusijaki. "There is growing demand, but it needs to be supported. Blois is a medium-sized town, and even though my clients come from very different backgrounds, I have to explain how to prepare and eat each product." Over the years, Masato Fujisaki has built up a solid and loyal clientele and is also attracting new clients. He mainly sells his vegetables at open-air markets and to restaurants, and also sells directly from his farm in July and August.
Masato Fujisaki supplies two restaurants in Blois, including a Michelin-starred establishment that combines local cuisine with Japanese influences.
Every year, Masato Fujisaki tries out "one or two new vegetables," but his primary goal is to stabilize his production. "I want to do less but better." At the request of a Mexican restaurant in the department, the producer has also started growing chillies and tomatillos.
For more information:
Les Légumes de Masato
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