Every Saturday, my day begins with a trip to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market (and many Tuesdays and Thursdays as well!) If you haven't been before, it is a fantastic market! The one on Saturdays is HUGE, and features vendors of all sorts - fruits and veggies obviously, but also dried fruits, nuts, eggs, saurkraut, spices, cheeses, bakeries, dried beans, fresh pasta, smoked fish, fresh fish, fresh meats, soy products, ice cream, jams, honey, olive oils, chocolates, plus prepared foods like hummus, pita, etc and then a slew of fresh food stands in pretty much any cuisine you desire. Most of the merchants are extremely generous with samples too, so you can find THE best strawberries of the day before you commit to buying any (during the times of year when berries, cherries, or stone fruits are in season, it is really easy to go and eat way too many samples and get fairly sick from all the fruit!)
Anyway. I love the market. On Saturdays, they also hold cooking demos. Most Saturdays feature two demos, one from 11-11:45 and the other 11:45-12:30. They are mostly held by either local chefs or chefs in town while on tour for cookbooks. Usually the focus is on using seasonal ingredients from the market itself. And they always include tastings of the food prepared, and a chance to go talk to the chefs afterwards.
I've been attending most of these demos and have gotten a chance to sample some amazing dishes from chefs from all over the city. I highly recommend!
You can read more about the market here: http://www.cuesa.org/ and find all of the schedules for upcoming demos and reviews from past demos.
Reviews:
- February 11: Pastry Chef Francis Ang, Fifth Floor, Almond beignets with satsuma marmelade.
- March 24: Peter Cham, Radius, English pea and green garlic panna cotta.
- March 31: Chef Sascha Weiss and Pastry Chef Susan Stampke, Plant Cafe, Spring Gnocchi and Chocolate Hazelnut Strawberry Napoleons.
- April 7: Chef Nicolai Lipscomb, Fifth Floor, Blue Bottle Cavatelli with lamb, ricotta, peas, and pea greens.
- April 7: Chef Mark Richardson, Seasons Restaurant, Habanero deviled eggs and Caramelized fennel soup with fava beans and orange relish.
- April 14: Chef Arthur Wall, Garcon Restaurant, Gnocchi with Artichoke and Spring Vegetables.
- April 21: Daniel Clayton and Trace Leighton, Origen Restaurant, Goat cheese custard tart, with fresh greens and citrus vinaigrette
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