Chatham Farmer's Market July31st....

Last night was another night of burger production at the Italian Riviera ~ we are truly back in the swing of things.   This week we were on a better roll and didn't stay too late.   I will package them tomorrow.   I am more the assistant than the chef.   Theresa is the real chef as these are all her recipes.   I just chop what she tells me to chop.   I also handle all the packaging ~ which I have down to a system.   

Every week we also try to have some sort of side accompaniment.   Last week we had really wonderful Salsa...there was a Peach or Mango.   This week we will be having Hummus....two varieties --Roasted Peppers or Roasted Garlic.....they are both delicious.    

We are also going to sample our Southwestern Veggie Burger~ Hope to see you there....

Rosemary

Chatham Borough NJ News - The Savory Garden sound bite!

Yesterday was our first day back at the Farmer's Market.....lucky we came as we were interviewed for an online newspaper.....here is the article....just click on it and enjoy~  More later about how we did!

Chatham Borough NJ News - Despite 93-Degree Heat, Families Find Fun and Relief at Chatham Borough Farmers Market

Getting Ready for the Farmer's Market!

We are in the midst of getting ready for our first day back at the Chatham Borough's Farmers Market this Saturday July 24th.   We are really excited to see everyone.

As I write this we are cooking and prepping our veggie burgers for sale.   There is so much to do.....

Besides our usual veggie burgers we are going to have so really fresh Peach Salsa----which goes great with our Southwestern and Barbecue burgers.    Hope to see you all Saturday!

The Origin of the Original Burger: The Southwestern Burger

I was working at my brother in laws deli trying to develop foods that would be different on a salad bar.  So many customers were coming in asking for vegetarian selections that would be a healthy alternative to just salad.  I thought of veggie burgers but the ones that I had tried were not very flavorful or satisfying.   One day in my own kitchen I was thinking of what flavors would meld together well and still be nutritionally satisfying.   I started to experiment.  

I started with black beans and what would go well with them.   I thought of seasonings and vegetables that matched.   I have always loved Mexican food so I think that is what inspired my choices of flavors.    There is nothing like fresh cilantro to bring a taste of Mexico to life.    The first burgers  came out so well that I duplicated the recipe in the kitchen of the deli.   The customers loved them and they were a big hit.  

The fact that these were so successful made me start to think of what other kind of flavors I could do.  Our Southwestern Veggie burger is still very popular and will always be one of my favorites.~ T

Chatham Borough Farmers' Market 2010

Haven't posted much ~ will soon.   Just finished our paperwork for the new season at the Chatham Borough Farmers'  Market.  We are excited to see everyone again and are looking forward to an exciting time.   We really love to meet with our customers and get their feedback.   In the coming weeks we will keep you abreast of some exciting new developments.  We are looking to the future and hope to expand our reach in the community.  

Lessons Learned!

So there we were at our very first Farmer's Market selling our wonderful Veggie Burgers.   We had signs and a list of ingredients.   We had a little marketing sheet that told people who we were.  We also had a mini grill to heat up samples.   It is funny how you can attract a crowd with free food.   Anyway we were so proud of ourselves.  We were asked lots of questions that we felt very comfortable answering.   We knew our food-- that is until we got the one question we never in a million years expected.  

There are three different types of Veggie Burgers that we make.  One is our Barbecue Burger.   It is made with homemade barbecue sauce---which has Worcestershire sauce in it.    Theresa developed it because she felt kids would like it the most as it has a sweetness about it.   Imagine our surprise when a potential customer asks us ~and I quote ~ "is the Worcestershire Sauce vegetarian?" 

Picture a dumbfounded look on our face....see we had no idea that Worcestershire sauce is not technically vegetarian....since it has anchovies in it.   Who Knew!!!

So there is our first lesson that we learned about people's food issues.   We looked into it and found that there are not many companies that sell a vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce.   Luckily we did find Annie's Naturals which puts out a Vegan Worcestershire sauce....which is what we now use.   I guess the old saying is correct "live & learn" ~which helps to make things better.

In the Beginning Part III The Farmer's Market

One of the biggest things for us was where to sell our Veggie Burgers.   Theresa got in contact with the Chatham Farmer's Market and they were very interested in the idea of selling something different. It was the Market's second year and they wanted to expand.   They gave us  list of things that are required for setting up a stand at the Market and we got to work.  

We bought a tent----nice and red to stand and go with our logo.
We got a grill, tables, cash box, utensils and some signage.   We even had T-Shirts made up.  We were so professional~

We were really excited and nervous about selling the burgers.   I must admit I wasn't in sales mode right away....Theresa was great at it.   Having been in retail you would think I could come out swinging....it took me awhile to warm up.  

The first time we were there it took us awhile to set up.   Now we are pro's!  We were very well received....people loved the burgers.   We gave out samples and talked them up.   It was nice to have repeat customers as the weeks went on.