Chefs Take Part in Carrboro Cook-Off
By Kate Schoen

People lined up Saturday morning for the Local Chef's Event at the Carrboro Farmer's Market. Chefs from restaurants like Crook's Corner and the Lantern created farm fresh recipes. Many of the ingredients came straight from the market.

Chapel Hill resident Kelly Clark planned the event.

“ This is the fifth year for our chef's event. It started with a chili tasting,” Clark said.

This year's theme was picnic food. And it was a definite crowd pleaser. Patrons sampled everything from apple goat cheese foccacia to pickled pumpkin.

“ I really enjoyed the pickled pumpkin,” said Durham resident Kathleen Callahan. “That was very interesting.”

Chefs like Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin not only volunteered their time, they also handed out copies of their not-so-secret recipes.

“I like the picnic theme because everybody, all the chefs brought something completely different and everything complimented each other really well,” Jennings said.

Eventually all the food was gone. But people left with something more than full stomachs. They learned why it's important to eat locally grown food.

“It's fresher, you know what you're getting. You can talk directly to the person who's grown the food,” Clark said.

Clark says the market also promotes a strong sense of community. And, of course, a very hip image.

“It's more cool to eat local,” she said.

Cool and delicious. It's hard to top that. The Farmer's Market is open every Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon through December 23rd.

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