Lessons in Farm Fresh

I did a cooking demo at the Dacula’s Farmer’s Market Saturday. From about 10am – 1pm I gave several examples of using farm fresh ingredients provided by local farmers and vendors. It was great experience for what I eventually want to do, which is teach and give cooking classes.

I was warmly received (as anybody cooking food usually is) and several people admitted they rarely bought things like swiss chard or turnips because they didn’t know what to do with them. They were excited and glad that I was having the demo to show them tips on using the food. The fresh produce really made a difference in the taste and smell of the foods I was making. I made a bunch of omelettes since I had about three dozen eggs to work with. The farm fresh eggs are just amazing. We turned out omelettes that looked like they’d been colored with saffron, they were so yellow. Several of the vendors came over, offering me products to use in the demo. I got emails from vendors who said they were impressed and pleased with the demo, and that it helped their sales. A couple asked if I was going to be out there every weekend. I also got a note from a woman who was there and then featured me in her blog. This was great because it is the only source of photos I have of the event (almost only, my friend Terri took several pictures, too).

It was fun to do and a learning experience as well. Plus I made some contacts got some exposure as an independent chef. Who knows, it may develop into something more lucrative in the future.