Market Report #9: Lucero Strawberries

We visited Derby Street Farmers’ Market in Berkeley this Tuesday & talked strawberries. Ripe strawberries. Not in Kansas City or New York. Super ripe, Seascape strawberries from Lucero Organic Farms, right here in California. Hold the gas.

Market Report #8: Stone Fruit & Rain Delays

We headed inside for this week’s report because it was just too darn rainy & cold. Bill showed us some of the best (i.e. crunchiest) cherry varieties currently available at farmers’ markets and local supermarkets. He also makes some predictions about what all this rain means for the upcoming summer crops (e.g. don’t count on serving…

Market Report #7: Ferry Plaza

Last Saturday, we hit the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market with Bill Fujimoto. As the spring rains have finally begun to subside (at least for today), many crops are just now beginning to soak up some serious heat which leads to superlative flavor. A great example…

Market Report #5: with Tim Mueller of Riverdog Farm

Tim Mueller took some time to talk to us on Saturday at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market about what is going on & what is going IN to the ground at Riverdog Farm. The first plantings of summer’s big ticket items including tomatoes, sweet corn, and beans will happen over the next few weeks. While crops planted last fall begin to go…

Market Report #4: In the kitchen

For this week’s market report Bill Fujimoto stopped by the Oliveto kitchen. While the Oliveto kitchen is not exactly a farmers’ market, Chef Paul Canales sources some extraordinary produce directly from smaller local outfits that he thought Bill might get a kick out of. Most of these items appear on the menu the same day they are delivered, including…

Market Report #3: ‘Crazy’ Cabbage, Goose Eggs, Red Romaine

Yesterday, Bill & Paul hit the Derby Street market just in time to see all the purple asparagus vanish. No bother. There was plenty else to ogle including ‘crazy’ cabbage from Full Belly Farm and beautiful red romaine lettuce from Riverdog Farm. Also, some massive goose eggs from Arthur Davis of Ludwig Avenue Farm and a few tips from Chef Canales on…

Market Report #2: Catalan Artichokes

Another week closer to spring and another visit to the farmers’ market with Chef Paul Canales and Bill Fujimoto. This week, we hit the Derby Street market in Berkeley to see some truly awesome specimens of artichoke grown by the one and only Maria Catalan of Catalan Farms in Hollister. Paul explains how they will be used in the Oliveto kitchen* & gives us some good tips on what to do …

Introducing…The Fujimoto Farmers’ Market Report

ho better to tell us what we should be shopping for than Bill himself? So, we’ll be posting Bill’s Farmers’ Market Reports – full of fun facts, shopping tips, and insightful observations throughout the spring and into the summer. We’ll go shopping with Bill at some of our favorite farmers’ markets in the…