A series of cooking demonstrations featuring fresh and local produce will launch at the Oakland County Farmers Market this Saturday, Jan. 14, and continue every other Saturday through the end of March.
The demonstrations occur from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the market, each featuring a different guest chef. Danny Martinez of the Alley Cat Cafe in Pontiac will be the first to host, with chefs from Townhouse in Birmingham, High 5 Salts With Benefits, C.A.Y.A. Smokehouse Grill in Wolverine Lake, Cacao Tree Cafe in Royal Oak, and the Dorsey Schools Culinary Academy to follow. The demonstrations are free to attend.
Oakland County Farmers Market Manager Jeremy Brown says winter produce demonstrations have been a hit since first starting two years ago, providing visitors with valuable and useful information.
"I hope the cooking demonstration series inspires people to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables in their meals during the winter, when finding fresh items can be challenging," he says. "I think some people may be surprised as to how many items are available at the market during the winter."
Items like root vegetables, mushrooms, honey, garlic, onions, and apples are all available fresh from local vendors during the winter months and will be utilized by the guest chefs. Following the cooking demonstration free samples of the prepared dishes will be available and Lake Orion's White Pine Coffee will be providing free coffee samples, as well.
Recipes of the prepared dishes will be available for those who wish to try them out at home and the ingredients will be available from Oakland County Farmers Market vendors. These vendors include VanHoutte Farms in Armada, Penzien Produce in Imlay City, Hockey Haven Farm in Lapeer, Give & Grow Mushroom in Chesterfield, Sweetz Sugaring in Imlay City, and Brookwood Fruit Farm in Almont.
The Oakland County Farmers Market is located at 2350 Pontiac Lake Rd. in Waterford. Winter hours are 7 a.m.-1:30 p.m. every Saturday.
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