Double-Treats: Demo & Parade

Pack your costume and your appetite for
this week’s Market events!

Demo with Chef Thomas McKeown
10:00 am on 10/30
Chef Demos are sponsored by
Whole Foods Market
If you’ve ever joined Chef Thomas McKeown on one of his Market tours, you’ll know what an expert he is in sourcing and creating magic with the season’s best local foods. You’ll also know that his descriptions of food are just as beautiful as the accent he uses to describe it. Not just a pretty voice, Chef Thomas also brings an Irish perspective to his culinary approach. He celebrates heirloom recipes, supports local and regional farmers, and raises awareness for a more sustainable and vibrant food community. Peachtree Road Farmers Market is lucky to have him as our friend – and we think that you’ll agree after joining us for this week’s chef demo!

2nd Annual Halloween Market Parade
Step-off at 11 am
Pull out your ghoulish gear for a morning of Halloween fun at the Market! We welcome kids of all ages, dogs and their people. Prizes courtesy of The Cookie Studio and Taj Ma-Hound Bakery. RAIN OR SHINE!

People Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Use of Recycled & Green Materials
* Too young to protest (under 18 months)

Doggie Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Duo Costume (person/dog in complementary costumes)
* Most Original


- Jennifer Maley

This Week at the Market

Market Mash-up – Better Together
This Saturday, Oct. 23, at 10 am
It’s going to be a “monster” mash-up! Your Market vendors will team up to create a dish combining their products into one delicious recipe. A lucky 150 shoppers will get to vote for their favorite dish. Who will join forces to have the best mash-up? Will it be jam and sausage? Pesto and pasta? Chicken and cheese? Join us to find out – root for your favorite vendors and try some great new dishes! Judges on hand to help include former AJC dining critic Meredith Ford Goldman and Atlanta Magazine’s local food expert Deborah Geering.

This Saturday is also Bike to the Market Day with special bike parking! Grab your bike and come enjoy the fall air, live music, autumn produce, and Market Mash-up this Saturday!

Coming next week: Halloween Fun at the Market:

2nd Annual Halloween Market Parade
Oct. 30, Step-off at 11 am
Pull out your ghoulish gear for a morning of Halloween fun at the Market! We welcome kids of all ages, dogs and their people. Prizes courtesy of The Cookie Studio and Taj Ma-Hound Bakery. RAIN OR SHINE!

People Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Use of Recycled & Green Materials
* Too young to protest (under 18 months)

Doggie Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Duo Costume (person/dog in complementary costumes)
* Most Original


- Jennifer Maley

All Treats, No Tricks

Get your sweet tooth ready for
this week’s Chef Demo with
David Jeffries of David Jeffries Kitchen – 10:00 am on 10/16
Chef Demos are sponsored by Whole Foods Market

What kid wouldn’t want an Italian cookie in their treat bag come this Halloween? If you’re that kind of kid at heart, don’t miss this week’s Chef Demo with Market vendor David Jeffries! If you haven’t already come to love his sweet and savory biscotti, don’t worry, that just means that you haven’t tried them yet. Jeffries has been perfecting these twice-baked goodies since he was a young boy in his grandmother’s kitchen. His love of baking led him to an acclaimed career as a pastry chef working in some of the country’s finest restaurants. Over the past 20 years, Jeffries has delighted sweet teeth everywhere from the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta’s Park 75 restaurant to high-profile events like the Emmys and Grammy award shows. He now focuses on his signature dessert, the light-as-air biscotti he creates with local, sustainable, all-natural ingredients. With fun flavors including Orange Spiced Hazelnut, Chocolate Chocolate-Chip, Savory Pear & Rosemary and Gorgonzola & Walnut (plus gluten-free options), you won’t want to miss the creative cookie tips David Jeffries has to share this Saturday – don’t forget your treat bag!

Coming up later this month at the Market: Dust the cobwebs off your calendar and check out these events:

Oct. 23, 10 am: Market Mash-up – Better Together
It’s going to be a “monster” mash-up! Your Market vendors will team up to create a dish combining their products into one delicious recipe. A lucky 150 shoppers will get to vote for their favorite dish. Who will join forces to have the best mash-up? Will it be jam and sausage? Pesto and pasta? Chicken and cheese? Join us to find out – root for your favorite vendors and try some great new dishes! Judges on hand to help include former AJC dining critic Meredith Ford Goldman and Atlanta Magazine’s local food expert Deborah Geering.

Oct. 30, Step-off at 11 am: 2nd Annual Halloween Market Parade
Pull out your ghoulish gear for a morning of Halloween fun at the Market! We welcome kids of all ages, dogs and their people. Prizes courtesy of The Cookie Studio and Taj Ma-Hound Bakery. RAIN OR SHINE!

People Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Use of Recycled & Green Materials
* Too young to protest (under 18 months)

Doggie Costume Prize Categories include:
* Most Farmers Market Inspired
* Best Duo Costume (person/dog in complementary costumes)
* Most Original


- Jennifer Maley

It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

Saturday’s Chef Demo features

Hector Santiago of Pura Vida – 10:00 am on 10/9

Chef Demos are sponsored by Whole Foods Market

It’s one of Atlanta’s favorite chefs! As though his restaurant Pura Vida and street food phenomenon Burro Pollo weren’t enough to tempt Chef Hector Santiago’s devoted following, our food hero just opened Super Pan, too! These three delicious destinations combined are enough to vanquish any size hunger foe. And it’s quite a tasty battle indeed.

You might recognize Chef Hector from another tasty battle, Bravo’s “Top Chef: Las Vegas,” where he represented Atlanta and his fans by showcasing his signature Latin flavors with a passion for what he does best – cook with soul. Viewers also caught a glimpse of Santiago’s sense of adventure. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., he’s worked with some of the world’s most respected forward-thinking chefs, including José Andrés, Andoni Luis Aduriz and Wylie Dufresne.

It was nine years ago that his journey led Chef Hector and his wife Leslie to open Pura Vida, which means “pure life.” The heart of this Poncey Highland favorite is in the playful experience of casual meeting upscale, interesting ingredient combinations meeting modern technique, and above all, warm service. A native Puerto Rican, Santiago’s menu is inspired by all of Latin America and he is constantly studying, researching and experimenting with new flavors. His travels to Spain, Latin America and Peru are evident in the bold, creative dishes represented at Pura Vida. And you’ll want to be on the look out for Gastro Treks with Chef Hector – you can join in his travels for some tasty research, too! The 2011 schedule will be posted on Pura Vida’s website soon.

In the meantime, you can travel through your taste buds at this week’s Market. At Saturday’s demo, don’t be surprised if you see peppers in the mix. Inspired by a trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua where he foraged for local peppers, Santiago has planted a chile garden on Pura Vida’s rooftop. He’s also committed to sourcing from local produce vendors – just another couple of reasons why this multiple James Beard Award nominee is one of our local foodie heroes!

- Jennifer Maley