Gourmet Herbs was founded by Jane Vassallo in 2003. Stemming from generations of farmers, she inherited her family's love for life on the farm. As a fourth-generation farmer and growing vegetables from a young age, she developed a passion for horticulture like no other.
In the early 1990s, she moved from the lowlands of the Hawkesbury and established a new farm in nearby higher lands. This is where Jane started to pave the way for what later became Gourmet Herbs. Originally growing fancy lettuce, she began to explore other options for hydroponics in 1998. She trialled some micro-herbs, after which she discovered a demand for it by contemporary restaurants in the city.
Through much experimentation, Jane mastered the production of these baby herbs. With such high demand and little competition, Jane saw this niche opportunity and started her specialised business, now known as Gourmet Herbs. Within 12 months, she moved away from growing lettuce to focus solely on micro-herbs.
In the early 1990s, she moved from the lowlands of the Hawkesbury and established a new farm in nearby higher lands. This is where Jane started to pave the way for what later became Gourmet Herbs. Originally growing fancy lettuce, she began to explore other options for hydroponics in 1998. She trialled some micro-herbs, after which she discovered a demand for it by contemporary restaurants in the city.
Through much experimentation, Jane mastered the production of these baby herbs. With such high demand and little competition, Jane saw this niche opportunity and started her specialised business, now known as Gourmet Herbs. Within 12 months, she moved away from growing lettuce to focus solely on micro-herbs.
Jane has proudly led Gourmet Herbs into nearly 20 years of operation. What originally started with one woman, single-handedly growing a few select herbs herself, has since grown into a team of 13 people with a range of over 20 herbs. Through her providores, she now supplies to restaurants from Newcastle to Canberra and throughout Sydney.
Starting as one of the only females in a heavily male-dominated industry, Jane has developed a team of mostly female members. With an incredibly hard-working group behind them, Gourmet Herbs is proud to support a strong-female presence in the horticultural industry.
Coinciding with the team behind the company, the range of products as has also grown. Initially growing basils amongst a few classic herbs, we have proudly stretched our services, now offering and producing over 23 herbs straight from our farm.
As the specialist provider of baby herbs, we have expanded our collection of micro-herbs due to client requests. With strong old-fashioned values, we strive to meet our client's requirements. And it's because of their needs for particular herbs over the years, we now proudly offer a vast range of baby herbs including cut herbs, an assortment of Asian herbs and the popular basics. Recently, we started to offer a range of edible flowers, including zucchini flowers and a range of violas.
We pride ourselves on old fashion values: we understand what our clients want and work tirelessly to deliver only the highest quality products. Through our large selection of herbs and edible flowers, we strive to be the quality grower for all your herb and edible flower needs.
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