A Tunisian entrepreneur growing edible flowers says she is surprised by the appetite for her homegrown product in the North African country and hopes to see a 'new culinary culture' bloom.
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Sonia Ibidhi, a 42-year-old journalist, turned to organic farming of the niche but in-demand product 'out of love' for working on the land.
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Among the flowers she grows are borage, a blue star-shaped flower that tastes like cucumber, chive flowers - purple blossoms with a flavour similar to onion - and nasturtiums, bright yellow to orange flowers with a radish-like taste.
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'I thought the flowers would be for export and of no immediate interest to the local market, but I've been surprised by the growing demand, in particular from some top-end hotels,' she said.
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After bringing back 42 seed varieties from France, Ibidhi began planting around a dozen types of flowers. She said she chose the mountainous Tabarka region in the country's northwest for its humid climate and abundant fresh water, and now uses her own seeds.
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'I do something that I love, that is beautiful and colourful,' she said proudly. She said she hoped her flowers would spark 'a new culinary culture in the country'.
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Tunisians already use certain flowers in their traditional cuisine - some sweets feature dried rose petals, while lavender is an ingredient in a spice mix used in couscous recipes. But fresh flowers, which can be used for dishes from soups to salads as well as teas, are a novelty.
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'Culinary journey': In a luxury hotel in Gammarth, an upscale northern suburb of the capital Tunis, chef Bassem Bizid uses nasturtiums for his fish tartar and accompanies other dishes with a flower-leaf salad or a sorbet garnished with fresh violets.
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Clients are 'very satisfied to discover something new', he said. The hotel's master chef, Italian Alessandro Fontanesi, said that during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the flowers went beyond introducing a new look and flavour.
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'Not only are we using a rare Tunisian product, which makes the plate more attractive and adds a special taste, but it can take our clients on a culinary journey,' he said.
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