As wild as it gets
Frank Radder is a certified herbalist and grower of organic herbs.
Most of all, Frank is a supplier of organic potted herbs for Rungis. Rungis bridget the gap between his farm and the top restaurants in the Netherlands. And once that link was made, he saw more opportunities. Now Frank is searching the nature as a certified herbalist to pick herbs on a very limited scale. That has nothing to do with commerce, but everything with passion.
How it all started
´My story started with a paper route and picking lots of strawberries. So as a boy i saved up the money and started a plantation; because that was my passion. At first it was all about ornamental plants and perennials for the garden. But that proved to be a fashion-conscious product. Step by step, in five years, i switched to herbs.’
Transition to organic
‘When an important customer highlighted the fungicide and pesticide in a trial delivery, which, according to virtually all textbooks doesn’t belong there for already a long time, we switched in 2009 to pure organic growth. We are now SKAL certified and deliver over 70 different types of potted herbs to all places, including Rungis. Slowly grown and packed with vitamins, minerals, organic substances, aroma, color, taste and texture.’
‘With Rungis i share that we both have a huge passion for our profession. Completely addicted to the product. Thereby Rungis has ensured my products got an entrance into the food industry. As a grower i all of a sudden stood in the Culinary Saisonnier.’
Food from mother nature
‘Meanwhile, i completed several courses to become a herbalist. I’m now going into nature in search of what this week has to offer. Just picking in the wild is absolutely not done. In fact, different plants are protected. But i search, identify and pick with respect. Everything that grows here in the wild is much stronger and tastier than the farmed version. And many of them don’t even exist when farmed.’
With Rungis i share that we both have a huge passion for our profession
‘Everything that can be used in the kitchen like flowers, plants, roots and berries Rungis offers on a very modest scale. With a picture, a description and most of the time an indication of the possibilities. Then i check if there’s enough available. It’s not even a thousandth of my sales and it takes a lot of time, so it has nothing to do with business. But seeing the enthusiasm of the chefs when we go on a ‘food from mother nature’ excursion, i know why i do what i do.’