The Farm Sessions

I had high hopes having read the reviews and being able to reserve FREE tickets in advance. I did think it odd that with tickets you could come anytime between 11 am and 1 pm. Shouldn’t there be a set time since I got tickets? Oh well. It didn’t matter that even though I booked the tickets a week in advance (because I was afraid it would be «sold out») they had not listed which Chef or restaurant was conducting the session. I knew it would be great because of the reviews and I thought the concept was brilliant.
So when we got there, the organized person (and logistics coordinator by day) that I am was met with no seats available, no one to check us in (even though it says to bring a copy of your reservation or your ID) and no one saying anything at the cooking counter when we arrived. What was going on?!
Ten minutes to 11am the chef introduced himself. Chef Curry from Boa was funny and engaging IF you could hear him. He was competing with the market noise and he was losing. Too bad too because what I could hear while we stood the entire time, was great! Chef Curry clearly knew his stuff, but they really needed a speaker system so he could be heard. After standing for an hour and a half under a hot tent, we had had enough. We stayed long enough to get one (amazing) food sample, but that was also the most annoying thing — fighting for a bite of food with people that just happened to pass by the tent at the right moment. Hey! Give me that! I was here first AND I registered!
*sigh* It didn’t count for nothin when it should have, otherwise why bother? Here’s hoping there are future improvements because they’ve got great sponsors that are supporting a great concept.

This is a fantastic concept that I’d love to see at my local farmers markets in San Jose! Thanks to a tweet from the Valley Ho, my BF was able to score the last few seats to the Farm Sessions, featuring Chef Sean Currid of the VH, where we were staying.
Sean was amazingly gregarious and engaging! He kept us enthralled for the two-​hour demo and treated us to great cooking tips alongside mouth-​watering samples. His take on a caprese woke up my tastebuds and was so delicious that I drank the vinaigrette! His tip? Use rice wine vinegar to make it a little sweet and not too acidic. We also sampled a roasted beet, fennel, and goat cheese salad with a basil vinaigrette – which I think may have featured his secret go-​to ingredient: sherry vinegar. The main of white beans with hamhocks and sauteed kale also got a splash of the sherry vinegar before being topped with the croutons Chef Currid had pan-​toasted in front of us. Everything was so flavorful that we knew we wanted to try one of Café ZuZu’s chef’s dinners held on alternating Mondays.
Although I’d initially been skeptical about spending a few hours of my Saturday morning sitting at a farmers market, Chef Currid’s fun personality and awesome cooking made the time fly by. Definitely try to reserve your free tickets on the website to guarantee yourself a seat (and a free reusable shopping bag). We booked online and showed up on time only to find our seats had been taken by passers-​by. Kudos to the organizer, though, who immediately went to procure more chairs and bags when he learned we’d made reservations.
5 stars without question!

This is a brilliant idea! Through my friend, the wonderful Kevin N., he got tickets to chef Sean Currid’s Farm Session. Sean was great! I didn’t get to taste the moz and tomato salad but I did have the kale and white bean dish and that was amazing. All the flavors meshed so nicely and the pan fried croutons were delish! Sean is the chef at the Zu Zu at the Valley Ho Hotel just down the street. I would love to have dinner there if this sneak peak was any indication of what a meal created by Chef Currid would be… YUM!
Having a local chef prepare some dishes with what you can purchase right there at the Market is brilliant. It made me want to go get everything and go home and cook. I’m a big fan of the Food Network and I love cooking shows. It was so cool to see everything live and Chef Currid was friendly and engaging. He even answerd questions and stayed to talk after he was done. Thank you Chef!

Through our friends staying at the Valley Ho (tee hee!) we had the pleasure of getting a cooking demo/​tip sesh with Sean Currid (chef at Valley Ho). Not only was Sean incredibly friendly and helpful but the food was (DUH) phenomenal.
We had a moz and tomato salad (perfect starter) followed by a kale with white bean side accompanied by some awesome pan made croutons.
Using some ingredients straight from the stands at the market was a cool way to incorporate local goods (woot buy local!)
This was a great way to start day two of our trip… a definite must check out local or tourist alike!
Only criticism: We had reservations but by the time we got there non reservation folks had taken our bags/​seats… flipside of that is that the guy who was hosting the event went out of his way to get chairs and ensure we were taken care of…

OTFM was a zoo today (in a good way). I’ve never seen it so packed with people, but it’s refreshing to see that so many people are looking to buy local lately! I was lucky enough to get one of ten seats for the kick-​off of The Farm Sessions… what a treat.
For those that don’t know, The Farm Sessions will take place each week at the Farmers Market from now through the end of the season (May 29, 2010). Each Saturday, a local chef will demonstrate (to a group of ten people), as they shop the farmers market and prepare a dish using fresh ingredients. Viking is the main sponsor, and I believe the space itself is there thanks to the Chef’s Loft as well. But The Farm Sessions’ concept is thanks to Joe Garcia, who brought his vision to fruition — kudos for that!
Today’s session was led by Chef James Porter of Petite Maision. He did an incredible job, keeping the session fun and interactive. I learned a ton and I scored one of the eco-​friendly totes as well. Chef James made it look easy to create a gourmet meal of pork chop with salad and goat cheese and a fresh melon drizzled with honey and goat cheese for dessert.
Our group of foodies followed James around the market and found the ingredients from the following vendors:
–Made By Bees
–Triple V Farm
–Rhiba Farms
–On the Vine
–Seacat Gardens
–Queen Creek Olive Mill
–Pork on a Fork
While today was free since it was the first one, going forward, the cost will be $ 40 per ticket and participants will receive enough ingredients to prepare the same dish at home for two, a recipe card, shopping/​resource list and a market shopping tote.
I am excited to see the line-​up of chefs that are participating for future sessions — I am sure this will sell out each week, so plan on purchasing your tickets early! (You can do so on their website).