Farmer’s Market to Feature Local Restaurant Chefs

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

The Falls Church City Farmers Market has become a popular destination.  It may become more popular with a new program featuring local restaurant chefs demonstrating the use of fresh seasonal ingredients that’s scheduled to begin this Saturday.

Aimee Suyehiro, chef and co-owner at Argia’s on Washington Street, will be the first featured in the series on Aug. 29. She will be followed by Leland Atkinson of Sinplicity Catering on Sept. 19, and Tracey O’Grady from Willow Oct. 3. At least two subsequent dates are planned, but the chefs have yet to be selected.

Chefs will do a cooking demonstration from 9 to 10 am on the west side of City Hall, followed by a tasting when their creation is ready. Some will even share their recipes. And for those unable to attend in person, the events will be recorded and available for viewing on the Facebook social networking site.

“I think it’s a great thing they’re doing,” said Ms. Suyehiro, who purchased an enormous quantity of tomatoes at the Market for use in her restaurant Aug. 22. “It gets people more aware of the Falls Church Farmer’s Market.”

And “it’s a great thing to help the local farmers out there.”

The Market Chef program is the brainchild of Kathleen Nixon, a City resident who has been coming to the Farmer’s Market every week for nine years and now buys almost all her food there.

“The Market needed something else to attract people to it,” Ms. Nixon said. Three years ago, the increasingly popular Market became year-round, she pointed out. “This just seemed like a natural extension.”

Ms. Nixon also hopes that more people will adopt the lower-energy consumption lifestyle of buying ingredients made or grown locally. This also requires people to use more items that are available seasonally, instead of buying tomatoes trucked in from far-flung locales during the winter months.

She mentioned she has made a dish she dubbed “Farmer’s Market Stew,” which consists of onion, carrot, potato, sausage, and mushrooms. “It’s a recipe put together from what’s in the Market.”

Ms. Suyehiro, from Argia’s, also says her cooking benefits from the Market and from participating in the Market Chef program.

“I get ideas from seeing what’s out there. So it helps. I learn every day.”

Update Aug. 25: The story originally identified the Sept. 19 chef as coming from Simplicity Catering. The correct name is Sinplicity Catering. We regret the error. And another restaurant has been selected: Arlington’s Liberty Tavern will be featured Oct. 31.