On July 18, Downtown Anaheim held its weekly Farmers’ Market and Street Fair with over 25 different certified farming markets selling their organic vegetables.
Shopping for food was not the only attraction at the street fair. At the center of the festival was the Chef Cooking Showcase, in which a guest chef and culinary artists arranged their own “cook shows” and cooked different kinds of foods “on the spot.”
Erik Santiago, a chef at Eat Street restaurant and the showcased chef on July 18, shared his first experience. “I arrived here an hour before the showcase started and walked around looking for ingredients,” he said. “Then, I just picked what looked good and started cooking it up for the show.”
He chooses ingredients directly from market tents to show his audience the various ways that a meal can be prepared to be mutually beneficial to both the community and the business. “These foods come from local growers and businessmen” he said, “by supporting them, it also supports the community.”
Farmers Market Street Fairs are scheduled to be held on upcoming Thursdays with different guest chefs with their distinct methods of preparing meals from scratch. The Fair has been a successful event for a long time, with support from both the community and the farmers. The event is held at Center Street Promenade and lasts from noon until 7pm each week.
“I like coming out and seeing smiles on people as they purchase our vegetables,” said a farmer and salesman who identified himself as Juan.”The food shows are always interesting and everyone has a great time.”
