The Professionals S2015E07 - A Learner by Nature, Always - Etsuo Asano, Vegetable Farmer

Etsuo Asano's vegetables are acclaimed by chefs from around the world as having perfect flavor. The secret to the ultimate flavor is the meticulous way Asano has tended his fields for the past 50 years. Asano's goal is not to grow the biggest, fattest vegetables, or achieve the highest yield: instead he specializes in maximizing natural vitality. This is the essence of Asano's philosophy, which comes from over 50 years of vegetable farming. Asano isn't satisfied with just supplying the vegetables he grows to chefs. He also cooks the vegetables himself to assess how their flavor changes when heated, and listens carefully to chefs to find out exactly what they are looking for. The most important thing for Asano is that the people who ultimately dine on his vegetables find them as delicious as Mother Nature can make them. Asano also experiments with growing rare vegetables from around the world in his greenhouses. It's not uncommon for years to pass with new seeds growing properly. But Asano never succumbs to impatience in the face of these difficulties. He simply observes what nature does, and learns from the power of growing things. He describes himself as "always learning from Mother Nature".