In brief, chefs were eager to purchase locally grown herbs. Their reasons for purchasing herbs from local growers included fresher products, competitive price and quality, consistency, helping boost local economy and farmers, and a good source of marketing and advertising. Most chefs surveyed planned to purchase 1 to 2 pounds of their commonly used herbs each week. Some chefs anticipated purchasing more than 3 pounds of parsley and 5 to 6 pounds of basil per week. The size of packaging is also critical if farmers were to deliver fresh herbs to restaurants.
Culinary herbs are high value crops.
The table below gives the cash values of various basils sold at Hillsboro Farmers' Market. They were sold in bunches of 12 or 30. Many restaurant chefs would like to purchase locally grown vegetables and herbs because it is a great advertising tool and helps the local economy. If you already supply restaurants with vegetables, it is definitely a good idea to add culinary herbs. Even though most culinary herbs are not suited for large acreage, innovative growers can generate a substantial amount of income from herb production.