44 Gustation
Farm Gate to Dinner Plate with
100% Market Fare
story By Kat DuGGan
With a touch of creativity and a good
dose of collaboration, stall holders at the
Marlborough Farmers’ Market have proved
that creating meals with food only purchased
at the market is entirely possible. “This market was started by Chris Fortune,
amongst others, and he said [at the time] that
we needed to have enough to make a dinner.
In those days it was hard because there
wasn’t enough meat.”
Market chairperson Neville White and his
wife Sharyn, marketing and promotions
manager Sigrun Steinhagen, Windsong
Orchard owner Jennie Crum and Cranky Goat
owners Simon and Hellene Lamb took on the
challenge to eat purely from the market for a
week during April. “Now we have pork, fish and tempeh, we
have for the full range of proteins and it’s
exciting and easy now; and this time of year
it’s great, we’ve got new [produce] coming all
the time,” Jennie says.
The challenge was part of New Zealand
Farmers’ Market Week, and encouraged
participants to think outside the box in aid
of supporting local, reducing food miles and
keeping things fresh.
With around 50 stalls selling everything from
fruits and vegetables to baked goods, pasta,
meats and fish, eating entirely from the
market has become a regular occurrence for
Hellene.
“The first thing I do in the morning when I
get here is get my eggs, my bread, you can
get your meat, your fruit, everything is here,”
she says.
“In fact I think the only things I get from the
supermarket now is my cleaning products and
tins of beans, everything else I get from here
… it’s been amazing, [the market] has grown
so much.”
Jennie agrees, and says that buying and cooking
from the Farmers’ Market as much as possible
encourages seasonal eating, which in turn
encourages people to think outside the square.
Despite regularly eating from the market, the
goal to try and stick to 100% market products
meant getting creative with recipes and
sharing ideas was a must.
The group worked together to share meal
ideas, and encouraged the public to do the
same.
“I think for us, the collaboration is the best
thing because you try and work with others to
get recipes,” Hellene says.