dining
showcase magazine | dining & shopping 2012
olympia farmers market cooking demonstrations at the olympia farmers market
700 N Capitol Way, Olympia 360.352.9096 olympiafarmersmarket.com
At the Olympia Farmers Market, colorful arrangements of fresh produce fill the vendors’ stalls. But what is some of that stuff? The offerings might include many items you’ve never tasted, or even seen, along with familiar favorites. Friends of the Olympia Farmers Market believe no one should end up in a culinary rut, especially in a region with such a variety of locally produced organic food. That’s why the nonprofit organization teamed up with Slow Food Greater Olympia as co-sponsors of cooking demonstrations at the market. Volunteers will offer this instruction, along with free recipes and samples, most Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. “We’re going to feature unusual stuff from certain vendors at the market and combine that with ordinary things,” said Chef Treacy Kreger, a board member of both organizations. “We encourage our volunteers, who mostly come from the Slow Food group, to use a combination of vegetables and to make the recipes fairly simplistic, healthy, and fresh.”
Kreger has been a chef since 1980 and received his training at New England Culinary Institute. After years in the hectic restaurant business, he now dedicates his time to small-scale food production on the same Thurston County family farm where his grandmother grew produce for her cafés in Olympia during the 1930s. But his true passion is promoting the health benefits of vegetables and other food products raised locally, naturally and organically. If you haven’t tried Jerusalem artichokes, zucchini blossoms or leeks, here’s your chance to wake up your taste buds. Or just discover new ways to prepare the produce you already love. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday from April to October, and on weekends only in November and December, at 700 N. Capitol Way in Olympia. CANDACE BROWN
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