The Vegetable Whisperer

Asafumi Yamashita never imagined he would cultivate produce for a living. He was an expert in the Japanese tradition of bonsai when he moved from Tokyo to Paris almost 30 years ago. Asked by a chef to grow vegetables unavailable in local markets, he went back to Japan to look for seeds: “The quality there makes them more potent and reliable,” he says. But it’s his careful tending that has made him the designated grower for four Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, including L’Astrance and Le Cinq. “I know each of my crops because I listen to them,” he explains. “Some years, my turnips decide to taste like pears, some years they taste like parsnips.” Yamashita is a key player in a revolution in French cuisine, what he describes as “taking the vegetable away from its role as a side and making it the key element on the plate.” But not just anyone is worthy of his produce; he handpicks the chefs he supplies to be sure they respect his offerings. “Giving my vegetables away is like marrying off my daughter.”

From “The Japanese Vegetable Whisperer Behind Great French Restaurants” by Saskia de Rothschild for New York Times Style Magazine, 2016; Photo by Fred Dupour for Modern Farmer

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