Meet Vijay Singhal, The Guy Who Supplies Fresh, Live Microgreens to Your Favorite Restaurant

by Andrew Chalk

Check out the above picture of the open kitchen at Brodeto, Raleigh, NC that I first posted a week ago. Notice the pots growing fresh herbs on the counter. A pleasant image I thought. 

That was until yesterday, when I was at a presentation at the Texas Chefs Association by Vijay Singhal, founder and owner of Kasturi Farms in the town of (honest, real name) Telephone, Texas (maybe they have a callbox in the center of town named Telephone’s telephone). Kasturi Farms grows microgreens and at yesterday’s presentation Vijay taught me that there is no species, genus, or variety called microgreen. Severing a microgreen from its roots kills it (it is, literally, micro-murder) and then it loses 70% of its flavor in 24 hours. 

Back to Brodeto. Chef de Cuisine Chris Gass and team have those pots on their counter so that they can serve their customers ingredients that are at their maximum flavor. They were literally alive up until the moment that they were sprinkled on at the pass, or in the pan before tossing.

And why is there no such species, genus or variety as a microgreen? You saw it on a menu, after all. That is because microgreen is a stage of plant development, not a type of plant. For more clarity see the image below which was taken during Singhal’s fascinating presentation and smuggled out under machine gun towers and across minefields to add to the body of knowledge in the free world. 

Note that microgreen is the third stage of evolution of an adult plant. It is characterized by the image that most looks like it came from a sex education manual. 

The term is a boon to harried chefs writing menus. No need to remember what was was in the salad. Just write microgreens. What was the vegetable with the pork chop? Microgreens. Don;t get carried away and when asked “How can I prevent dandruff?”  say “microgreens". But for a broad variety of use-cases, microgreens is a safe answer.

Vijay is a busy man. Below is a full list of what his fledgling business is growing. He lives in Dallas and spends most of his time visiting metroplex chefs. Many already use his product. If you are a chef and do not, it may be a good time to contact him. And Go Brodeto -- put them on your counter.

He gave attendees samples of his product, and, by God, these herbs are punchy and diverse. 

Kasturi Farms Microgreen Product List

1 Alfalfa

2 Basil

3 Beets

4 Broccoli

5 Cilantro

6 Clover

7 Garlic

8 Fenugreek

9 Radish

10 Spicy

11 Wheat Grass

12 Zesty

13 Mustard Wasabi

14 Parsley

15 Watercress

16 Fennel

17 Arugula

18 Chia