How to do the edible flower food trend — without poisoning yourself

WE all love edible flowers. But there’s good reason why you shouldn’t just be plucking every flower in sight to pop on your plate. Here’s how to do the edible flower trend — without poisoning yourself.

Bloom edible flower owners James and Katie Geralds

THE edible flower trend is blooming on the Gold Coast — but it is coming with a health warning attached.

From wedding cakes, desserts, cocktails and more, chances are your favourite brunch place has served a sprinkling of violas or marigolds on your smoothie bowl.

Lime, Blueberry, Lavender tart with edible flowers served at Cardamom Pod Vegetarian restaurant, Broadbeach, Gold Coast. Picture: Regi Varghese

But foodies have been warned not to use flowers bought from florists because they can contain pesticides and chemicals not meant for consumption.

Bloom Edible Flowers owners Katie and James Geralds say attempting to copy the trend without proper knowledge can be a sickening mistake.

“There are certain flowers that are toxic to eat,” said Mr Geralds.

Bloom edible flower owners James and Katie Geralds have created their own naturally coloured salts, sugars and floral lollipops.

“If you buy flowers from a florist, they contain pesticides and sprays which can be harmful, and transfer themselves onto the icing of the cake and your food.

“We don’t use any chemicals and grow our flowers in the ground so they are absolutely safe to eat.”

The edible flower growers supply local Coast and northern New South Wales eateries with chemical-free edible flowers used in both sweet and savoury dishes for aesthetics and flavour.

Katie and James Geralds have created Bloom, a new local venture offering chemical-free edible flowers to the restaurant and catering market.

Mrs Geralds said edible flowers were fast becoming the go-to accessory for foodies

as they add colour and life to salads, garnishes and grazing tables, and to decorate

cocktails and drinks.

“Edible flowers have come into their own in the last year, with more people

appreciating their beauty and understanding their health and flavour benefits,” she said.

“In a very short time we’ve had a huge response to our products with a number of

local food companies using them for garnishes and restaurants adding edible flowers to their menus.”

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Bloom supplies restaurants such as Jimmy Wahs, Osteria, Taverna, the North Room, Balboa Italian and the Bombay Cricketers Club.

All Bloom edible flowers are grown on the couple’s 105-acre farm in Tyalgum and

sold fresh in punnets.

The couple also use their flowers to dye salt, sugar and other foods purple, green, and pink and even to make floral lollipops.