theStearns

Chefs Chris Shepherd and Randy Evans at Eastside Farmer's Market (photo by Kenn Stearns)

The community benefits when chefs and farmers connect through locally-produced vegetables, fruits, and farm products. Yesterday I spotted these locavore chefs – Chris Shepherd (chef and managing partner of Catalan Food & Wine) and Randy Evans (executive chef of Haven) – comparing notes in the 90+ degree heat/humidity during a break in their buying activities at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside. Farmers appreciate the restaurants’ buying power and restaurant customers enjoy fresh ingredients that taste good. It’s all good!

Bayou City Farmer's Market in Houston (photo by Kenn Stearns)

Fresh, organic,  and especially LOCAL are the rage when it comes to cheese, meat, coffee, produce, seafood, honey, baked goods, candles, and more. Every major city has their farmer’s markets. The fourth largest U.S. city has many but we like the Urban Harvest effort at 3000 Richmond. It’s large enough to offer a selection but small enough to cover in 30 minutes or less – more when running into friends (thankfully there’s fresh coffee).

We think it’s a good sign to often see several of Houston’s top chefs working their way from vendor to vendor negotiating quantities beyond what most of us can pony up. Our favorite vendors are Jennifer and Dimitri Georgantus with Texas Wild for gulf shrimp from Freeport; Christian and Lisa Seger with Blue Heron Farm for family-owned goat dairy (check out their Mexican goat milk caramel called cajeta and try it with fresh apples); and Theresa, Mike and Bobby Atkinson with Atkinson Farms, a family farm north of Houston. If you stop by one of these vendors, tell them we said hello.

Something for everyone at Bayou City Farmer's Market (photos by Kenn Stearns)