CENTERVILLE, Ohio — Joe Vorndran of Centerville will admit straight out – he loves to eat.

“And if I eat, which I love to do, I plan on eating right and healthy,” Vorndran said from his one-acre urban garden. “I believe in eating healthy foods, and taste is everything. Some foods that are good for you are bland in taste, so that’s why incorporating herbs in my growing is important.”

Vorndran confesses to stopping at McDonald’s on occasion, but swears he cooks at home 99 percent of the time. The food he prepares comes from his one-acre garden and his list of recipes reads like a Betty Crocker cookbook.

“I love to eat and I remain thin because I don’t use preservatives or additives,” he said. “I don’t believe in eating processed food, only the food that I can cultivate and take off the grounds. But in order to eat my vegetables they need some sort of taste, and that’s where my herbs come into play.”

His farm is located near the heart of Centerville, where a long list of exquisite and somewhat exotic restaurants are located. Chefs at many of these have taken notice of Vorndran’s small herbal and vegetable garden, including Dorothy Lane Markets. Chefs seek fresh veggies and herbs – and that’s just what Vorndran offers.

“The chefs are interested, and it’s a market that I’m beginning to penetrate, but it’s a tough market to crack,” he said. “For starters, it’s tough making a lot of money growing herbs because you’d have to sell a high quantity of them to see a sizeable profit.

“Right now I’m just not that big. But they’ve taken notice that my vegetables and herbs are big, healthy and tasty. This is just the beginning of good things to come.”

Walk down the rows of his pristine garden you’ll spot parsley, cumin, rosemary, blue cumin, cilantro, thyme, dill, lemon grass, fennel, garlic, celery leaf, chicory, chervil, chives, lemon basil, caraway, sorrel, sage and borage. “I grow borage because it attracts bees,” he explained. “I’m careful when growing fennel and parsley, as groundhogs love these herbs.”

Bordering his long lines of herbs are a variety of mild and hot peppers, brilliant colors of green, orange, red, yellow and chocolate. If the colors don’t catch your attention, then perhaps the fragrance of spearmint will.

“When all is told, I love to cook,” he admits. “I personally am not a chef, but I enjoy cooking with these herbs.”

Growing the herbs is the easy and fun part, he says. The labor comes when he dries and mulches them in a spice grinder.

“I also eat my own vegetables, but when I have excess, I dry them,” he said. “I also make my own toothpaste, using a mix of spearmint, stevia (a sweetener) and baking soda.”

While providing a slow stream of herbs to local restaurants, Vorndran is also toying with the idea of packaging his ground herbal delights. “I have the resources, and it’s just a matter of finding the time and making labels and working with the Food and Drug Administration,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”