Awakening to a New Passion

I love plants and botany but I am far from a botanist, having spent 40 years of my life sitting on a chair in an office as a Chartered Accountant! I knew that I needed expert help in starting my vanilla farm, growing vanilla, pollinating it and processing it to finally get the luscious brown bean that we buy for our cakes, ice cream, tiramisu, yogurts, sauces – and the list goes on!

Mentorship from the other side of the world

During Covid it was possible for us in Europe, for a short period, to visit France – and visiting France meant we could go to the Indian Ocean Island of La Réunion. This is what I did – and there I visited all the vanilla farms I could. There was one, “La Vanilleraie”, run and managed by Bertrand Côme, an agronomist, that particularly struck me as embodying all I thought vanilla should represent – organic and hand processed from start to finish with a strong emphasis on quality – and the welcome from Bertrand was grandiose.

Nurturing Vanilla Paradise Nevis

Bertrand agreed to help me with my fledgling vanilla farm. He came all the way from La Réunion to Nevis (36 hours flight) in 2021 and gave me invaluable advice. He visited again at the end of January 2024: you can find his comments in the video. I am proud to say that he was pleasantly surprised by the progress we have made at Vanilla Paradise Nevis!

A Tribute to Mentorship

Embarking on this vanilla adventure has been a delightful departure from my accounting career. With Bertrand’s guidance, Vanilla Paradise Nevis has blossomed into a haven for sustainable, organic vanilla cultivation. As we nurture our beans, we celebrate the link with La Réunion of this exquisite spice, and I am grateful for Bertrand’s expertise.

Thank you, Bertrand, for your precious time and wisdom.