Edible Flowers at Maddocks Farm near Cullompton in Devon

THE edible flower food fad has become so popular that Mid Devon farmer Jan Billington – the UK’s only organic edible flower grower – simply cannot keep up with demand.

Every day the Maddocks Farm Organics website gets around 700 hits, and no two days are ever the same.

Last week Jan shipped a big order of edible flowers to none other than celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. That same week she also had a visit from children’s channel CBeebies.

Among her many other claims to fame is that she was asked to provide flowers to put in cocktails for the star-studded launch party of James Bond film Spectre.

Despite the fact that Jan could rake in so much more money if she expanded the farm based in Kentisbeare, near Cullompton, she is determined to not lose sight of what was always her ultimate goal – to offer a niche product which is bespoke and offers that personal touch.

Jan said: “We are delighted at the attention we’ve been getting, but I would not want to grow any bigger. I think the reason we are doing so well is we are very bespoke. We pack every box to order. It’s all about quality and making sure the flowers are packed freshly and will be with the customer the next day. That’s why we do as well as we do.

“I think if the company got too big you would lose that personal touch as it would become very much a mechanical process.”

Admitting that they simply cannot keep up with the ever growing number of customer requests, especially after edible flowers featured in the last season of BBC TV’s The Great British Bake Off, she said: “Every year demand has doubled. I don’t think we’re coping with demand but we’re really trying hard. We’re only a tiny farm. There’s just the two of us who work on the farm with some summer student help.

“I can’t even cope with all the emails because I have to get outside to do the packing and sowing of the flowers, but it’s fantastic.

“Over the course of the summer we also have to pack 250kg of organic rose petals which go into the organic perfume industry. We have had some fantastic publicity and done some great events.

“We supply some of the country’s best cake makers with edible flowers for wedding cakes, which they are lovely for as they are so visual. They also just lift a dish.”

Although edible flowers have become a huge trend in the past few years, Jan has been selling them for a long time.

She and her husband Stuart uprooted their family in 2002 to move to Devon as a direct result of watching far too many episodes of Escape to River Cottage.

She describes the lifestyle change after more than a decade of living and working in London as being ‘literally a breath of fresh air’ and Jan set about establishing Maddocks Farm Organics.

She began selling small scale seasonal organic vegetable boxes and they soon started supplying shops and pubs.

In 2008 Jan made the conscious decision to stop the wider veggie boxes and to specialise in edible flowers and salads. Maddocks Farm Organics remains the only edible flower specialist that has an organic licence and its products have received numerous awards.

Jan said: “Every day is different and that’s what’s so good. You never know what the next phone call will be. It’s madness but brilliant fun.

“It shows that if you work really hard and are passionate about what you do you can be successful. It just about finding something a little bit different.”