Hottest Trend in Dining: Gardens

Chefs have responded to the local food movement by going as local as it gets: their own gardens. In a survey of 2,000 chefs by the National Restaurant Association, a third identified gardening as the top restaurant trend of 2010, the AP reports. Growing produce, they’ve discovered, is often cheaper than buying it, and appeals to environmentally-conscious customers.

“A lot of times we take customers for a garden tour,” says the manager of Blue Water Grill in Michigan, which has devoted a whopping 3,000 square feet to its garden. Adds the owner, “It’s a benefit knowing the food you’re eating is grown 20 feet from the kitchen without pesticides or artificial fertilizers.” (More restaurant industry stories.)