Le Cordon Bleu (ARA) - Everyone knows that some of the best ingredients to cook with can come from as close as your own backyard.

These days, more and more chefs and restaurants are choosing to adopt an important tradition of the culinary arts: growing their own produce in gardens that they tend themselves. Even First Lady Michelle Obama has planted a garden at the White House. She is the only First Lady to have done so since Eleanor Roosevelt planted her Victory Garden during World War II.

The increasing desire and pressure to grow one's own vegetables comes not only from a longing to procure the freshest ingredients for dishes, but also from a movement to steer away from some of the more industrial growing methods that use chemicals to protect food, and also deplete the land on which they are grown.

Reasons to create your own gardens
Are you in cooking for a living, or do you just want to understand how growing your own garden can improve your cooking experiences? Aside from superior taste in many instances, here are a few reasons why professionals or those who love to cook at home start their own gardens:

Superior food safety - By growing your own produce, you can ensure that no pesticides or chemicals are used in the growth process. Superior, natural soils can be used and the personal touch or supervision can result in delicious fruits and vegetables.

Following nature - Another benefit of having your own garden is the ability to let nature take its course and allow crops to grow at their pace. Your garden will produce foods that are higher in nutrient levels than many foods supplied by industrialized farming combines.

Sustainable farming practices - Turning your soil, re-introducing vital nutrients, and generally caring for the land helps to ensure that the soil doesn't become stripped of the arable qualities that made it fertile. Even though you may not be a professionally trained cook or have a culinary degree, you can reap the benefits of your own garden by having a better understanding for organic gardening.

Why Michelle Obama has an organic garden
Michelle Obama is planting an organic garden on the White House lawn and is using the garden as a teaching tool for school children to help promote eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Gardening teaches children about caring for and taking responsibility for living things. It also requires dedication and hard work, with a tangible payoff at the end. All of these elements make gardens a particularly good tool for helping children to take pride in their individual efforts. Community gardens offer children an opportunity to take pride in their contributions and can also be a gathering place for neighbors.

Are you interested in learning more? Or would you like to find out how you can follow your passion for cooking to a potential career?

Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle offers hands-on culinary arts and patisserie and baking training; where you can learn alongside professional chef instructors who encourage creativity and teach the foundational skills to help you purse a career in the culinary arts. To learn more visit www.Chefs.edu for more information. (Le Cordon Bleu does not guarantee employment or salary.)

Courtesy of ARAcontent