April/May 2014 47 LEFT: COURTESY OF JERK N’ PICKLE; RIGHT: COURTESY OF FARMHOUSE CULTURE and some others for a compelling reason: “The farmers markets remain the place where we test and refine our recipes,” he says. While Tsai worked in finance before pursuing his tofu dreams, Peter Brydon spent 28 years as a printer before turning a hobby into Barlovento Chocolates. Among the French-style truffles in his repertoire are customer flavor ideas like Mayan Hot Chocolate, pairing cayenne, cinnamon and vanilla bean surrounded by his single-source Venezuelan chocolate. “Most of my flavors have snap. They jump out at you,” says Brydon. With truffle fillings like old-vine zinfandel, tarragon and blackberry liqueur, customers are swooning. New additions include addictive salted chocolate bars and his look-alike son, who now handles the booth at the South Palo Alto market. Besides being happy buyers of his chocolates, farmers market customers also play a key role in ingredient finding. According to Brydon, fruit used for his popular Meyer lemon zest truffles “comes from Bay Area backyards,” an easy call for the customers who trade their fruit for his chocolates. A particularly ambitious vendor is James Hall, proprietor of Raw Daddy Foods, whose savory and sweet “fun cones” available at the South Palo Alto market turn uncooked, vegan, fresh ingredients into delicious concoctions. Consider this: a petite flax-seed cone filled with butternut squash marinated in spiced almond milk layered with harissa and a slaw of jicama, pine nuts and currants. “I want to be the Colonel Sanders of raw fast food,” he reports. With his long white hair, slouchy fedora and friendly painted fingernails, “I’m trying to make eating vegetables fun,” he explains. So popular are his cones that on a super-windy day at the market when his freestanding booth and its contents blew over, he was ready to pack things up. “But people said, ‘No, no, pick ’em up off the ground; we’ll eat ’em!’,” he recalls. “That’s how hard-core they are.” Given the passion of vendors and the delight of their customers, the farmers market scene has definitely become a foodie happening. Here are some of just a few of the many notable, non-ag food vendors appearing at South Bay farmers markets. PREPARED FOODS BLUE CHAIR JAM One of the country’s most esteemed artisanal jam and marmalade producers with mind-blowing choices like strawberry-pink peppercorn jam, this Oakland-based powerhouse recently debuted at the Campbell and South Palo Alto farmers markets. ALIVE & RADIANT FOODS Potato chips are forgettable compared to the “dried, not fried” kale chips in enticing flavors from this vendor, who sells at the San Mateo market. FARMHOUSE CULTURE Healthful and fabulous, this vendor’s sauerkrauts, kimchee and other preserved vegetables come in imaginative flavors like ginger beet kraut. They’re available at the Los Gatos, Campbell, South Palo Alto and San Mateo markets. HODO SOY Proving that tofu can be as tasty as other proteins, this vendor also sells flavorful salads like five-spice tofu nuggets and other creations, available at the South Palo Alto market. JERK N’ PICKLE FARMHOUSE CULTURE
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above