Edible Roses Enjoy Consumption Spike

Some restaurants in Ecuador are attracting more customers with a special dish of organic edible roses. This gives farmers a chance to tap into a new market.

Taking a moment to stop and ... taste the roses.

The ultimate symbol of romance has become a hot gastronomic item.

Chefs like Daniel Pillon at the popular Zazu Restaurant in Quito, Ecuador are attracting customers with novelty dishes containing organic Ecuadorian rose petals.

[Daniel Pillon, Sous chef, Zazu Restaurant]:
"When you give people a plate with roses they ask, 'Can you eat them?'. Yes, but there's work behind them. The roses don't come out of vases."

And patrons are suitably wooed.

[Maria Jose Torres, Customer]:
"I've never tasted something like this before. It was great. It was strong but sweet at the same time. And you can definitely feel the rose scent."

Ecuador's flower export market is worth 600 million U.S. dollars a year.

But flower grower Roberto Nevado says edible roses are not yet profitable.

Of the total number of rose plants cultivated on his farm, fewer than four percent are organic and edible.

[Roberto Nevado, Rose Plantation Owner]:
"Until now it's an investment. It's not a profitable thing, but it's an investment. We think there might be a future in that."

And with food security becoming an increasingly thorny issue, roses might in future be better appreciated by our stomachs than our hearts.