Like many New Yorkers, I have been going to the Greenmarkets for years. In the last several weeks, I have been making an effort to visit the Greenmarket in Union Square more regularly hoping to be inspired in many different ways. I feel very fortunate to live and work next to one of the largest if not the largest of 44 Greenmarkets located in New York City and for no other reason it would be a shame not to make this a regular part of my daily life especially considering the profession that I have chosen and of course love … FOOD!
Maybe I would meet some new people/suppliers/farmers or get some good regular information about what to be pumping our current suppliers for and I mean this in the most of cooperative ways.
Our suppliers are great for the most part and they are generally excited by what they do. We work with some of the best suppliers out there since that would be in my opinion, a requirement of success in any business. We make these choices selfishly for our business but more importantly for the businesses we serve. That said, I can’t help but get the feeling that they (those suppliers remember) are always trying to sell me something since after all that’s what they do. And that’s a good thing by the way. I know people who can’t stand sales people. I find it fascinating, but that’s another story.
I’m approaching my visits from a much more organic perspective if you don’t mind the pun. The goal for me is to learn more about local product and share that knowledge with the followers of our posts regardless of whether or not they are customers.
Here are a few shots from last week from my always improving camera phone. Right now it’s a Blackberry Bold. By theway, if you have a Bold, get the insurance. It sucks if you lose it, but it sucks more to pay to replace it.
Asparagus is definitely in season locally and is just about at every stall lately. As the weeks progress, hopefully I will come to know some of these farmers and maybe even strike up a deal or two. In the meantime our wholesale suppliers have been getting pumped for information and you’ll be happy to know that asparagus is one of many local crops that will become more available further into May. May also brings us the beginnings of beets, rhubarb, spinach, turnips and summer squash.
I realize that as a ChefMod customer you may be visiting our blog from places all around the country, and we do not intent on leaving you out. We do have people local in some of your areas so we hope to bring you insight from those regions as well. In the meantime, please feel free to contribute. We would love the input.
For more information on the Greenmarkets in New York City visit www.cenyc.org/greenmarket
