Say it with celery: Fruit and veggie bouquets a blooming success for SA creator

ABC News

24 August 2017

By Tom Nancarrow

If you are in a romantic rut and looking to impress, could everyday fruit and vegetables be the answer?

Choosing a dozen capsicums over roses may seem strange to some, but it is the creative idea one SA resident hopes can satisfy the heart — and a hungry stomach.

Adelaide Hills resident Vlada Kazimirchuk is the founder of Lunch Bunch, creating edible arrangements using local fruit and vegetables.

Having found a number of edible arrangements from Russia, she has since turned the idea into a viable business.

"It is a sustainable gift," she said.

"Who says 'yes' with flowers … it is so 1920s."

Now it is all about wow effect, and about surprising your friends."

Having worked as an interior designer in Sydney for 16 years, Ms Kazimirchuk is a creative person by nature.

She said creating edible arrangements offered another level of creativity and personal control often lacking in her previous profession.

"It is a very exciting and long process from the concept to the final product," she said.

"There are a lot of people involved, and things can go differently.

"I rely only on my hands, and I create exactly what I want and it is very rewarding."

From a bouquet of mushrooms to an arrangement with avocados, Ms Kazimirchuk cites a bouquet including dried fruits, chillies and biscuits as one of the more unusual requests.

But she said the stranger the order, the more her creative side comes out.

"I love it — it is a challenge," she said.