Bill Fujimoto, the former manager of Berkeley’s Monterey Market, recently took a stroll through the Derby Street Berkeley Farmers Market with Bob Klein, owner of Oliveto restaurant. Klein had his video camera in hand to shoot some footage for the Oliveto Community Journal. Fujimoto, a produce expert who left Monterey Market in 2009 and is now […]
Berkeley farmers market
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The Fifth Quarter Charcuterie to debut at farmers’ market
Scott Brennan, former head butcher at Berkeley’s Café Rouge, is to debut his new charcuterie shop, The Fifth Quarter, at Kensington Farmers’ Market on July 24. “I am very excited, as you can imagine, and am hoping for a nice, warm day!” said Brennan who will be applying to Berkeley’s Saturday Farmers’ Market next. Brennan […]
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Jam maker turns hobby into thriving local business
Dafna Kory at Berkeley’s Local 123 Café. Photo: Sarah Henry. Dafna Kory at Berkeley’s Local 123 Café. Photo: Sarah Henry. Dafna Kory discovered the delights of jalapeňo jam during pre-dinner nibbles at a Thanksgiving gathering. She went out to buy a jar, couldn’t find the mighty spicy condiment anywhere, so she began experimenting with making […]
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June Taylor’s way with fruit: esoteric, steeped in history
June Taylor in her Still-Room. All photos by Sarah Henry. June Taylor crafts the kind of conserves and fruit confections that make food writers swoon. Case in point: Amanda Hesser’s description of Taylor’s preserves. “They are unlike any commercial preserves, not simply because she uses esoteric — virtually all organic — fruits like bergamots, kadota […]
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John Scharffenberger: From chocolate and wine to tofu
John Scharffenberger. Photo: Anne Hamersky. Long known for the success of his premium wine and chocolate companies, John Scharffenberger is making a name for himself these days as a tofu hawker. In June, Scharffenberger, 59, who divides his time between a home in North Berkeley and a place in the country, signed on as the […]
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Doctor’s orders: Eat your greens says Preston Maring
Here’s a notion that hardly seems radical: longtime Berkeley resident Dr. Preston Maring thinks physicians should prescribe healthy eating along with dispensing drugs to their patients. Maring, Associate Physician-in-Chief at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, believes doctors should also walk the walk about the preventive health benefits of sound nutrition. He’s so committed […]
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Cheating Farmers’ Market vendors in the spotlight
Farmers' Market produce should be in season and not have stickers The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is holding a “Farmers Market Listening Session” this evening, 5.30-7.30pm in Berkeley, after an exposé by NBC LA found vendors at Southern California farmers’ markets re-selling produce that they had not grown themselves. This is one of […]
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Berkeley Bites: Aaron Betesh, Blue Heron Farms
Aaron Betesh. Photo: Sarah Henry For 10 years, Blue Heron Farms vendor Aaron Betesh has been selling organic vegetables to customers at all three Berkeley Farmers’ Markets. Betesh is part of the Blue Heron crew which, for much of the year, hawks salad greens, Asian greens, herbs and flower — along with carrots, kale, and […]
Posted inEvents
Beer Olympics, the organic way
I don’t usually associate farmers’ markets and beer contests, but that unlikely pairing will be featured at Civic Center Park tomorrow afternoon. The Green Beer Olympics will be held during the Saturday Berkeley Farmers’ Market. The contest consists of three events: keg toss, hop sack race, and arm wrestling (by weight class). Entry is $10 […]
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The kitchen chez Alice
Vanity Fair, which concentrates more on Southern California stars than the more home-spun denizens of Northern California, features Berkeley’s Alice Waters’ kitchen in its October issue. With a trip to the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, or to Berkeley Bowl, most Berkeleyans could duplicate what Waters has on her table.
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Berkeley Bites: Kara Hammond, Elmwood Café
A decade ago, and fresh out of North Carolina, Kara Hammond landed a gig at Café Fanny, a tiny slip of a place in North Berkeley opened 25 years ago by, oh, a certain famous local chef. Hammond, who had run a homespun bakery in Greensboro, wanted to get some kitchen experience in the Bay […]
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Berkeley fields many winners in Best of Bay awards
Freight & Salvage was voted number one in two Best of the Bay categories. Photo: F&S. Several Berkeley businesses won top honors in SFGate’s Best of the Bay Awards, which this year attracted more than 71,000 votes from readers. The Awards are divided into 29 categories, each of which has many sub-categories, so apologies in […]