Bakers at the Market
Many of us have baking memories. Mine is of the yeast rolls my mother made using my future mother-in-law’s recipe. A close second has to be my grandmother’s tiny, crusty biscuits – perfect for a bit of butter and a bite of ham.
For each of us who carried those memories into practice, there are many more like me – those who depend on the Market for breads, cakes, pies, plus fancier baked fare. Let’s start with our traditional bakers.
A warm apple or sweet potato turnover from Marie Fulp on a cold morning rivals Proust’s madeleine* for eliciting memories. Marie tempts us with red velvet, spice, and other cakes as well.
Marguerite Graves’ table is next to the Harvest Room. The soon to be elected President Obama found her on a center table when he was campaigning. She has the photograph to prove it. Marguerite excels at muffins and brownies – all kinds of muffins and brownies with all kinds of enhancements, or not. Margeuritte is a weekly Saturday vendor offering traditional sweet breads that are gluten free, and sugar free breads that you’d never know!
Janice Gates delivers pristine pound cakes and cream sandwich cookies. Folks love to order her pound cakes for special occasions. Both are tailor made for coffee from Michael or a robust cup of tea from nearby Tea Hugger.
For years, Mamie Faucette was in the Market every Saturday with “My Father’s Biscuits.” Today, she is a daily vendor that occasionally sells at the market, whose buttermilk biscuits, sweet potato pies, and other southern delicacies continue to have a following.
In addition to bringing grass fed beef to Market, Margariette Fields of Rocking F Farm bakes cakes and pies to order or for your selection. You may find a traditional chess pie at Margariette’s table if you’re lucky. Maybe you will want to ask ahead.
Augustino Gusto – Visually a sight to behold and a symphony to taste. European creations from Adriana and Adrian fill two tables next to the Harvest room- some of the items you’ll find are dark chocolate pie and delicious meringue cookies.
Le Dolce Creazione – Italian delights by Paola. Don’t miss the lovely miniature pies (which actually can serve two or more). Recent favorites include pies using market sourced pumpkins, berries, chocolate chip cookies, and mushroom pie. Next to gorilla grain, every Saturday.
Nora Glanz- This Argentinian native is the go to for many market goers for they seek out her empanada for breakfast. She’ll heat up these folded pies filled with delightful combinations both sweet and savory. Nora makes a quiche of the month tooPack a few away for Sunday brunch and the weekend will be complete.
LOAF Bakery – Robert Roth brings a variety of artisan breads, focaccia, scones, croissants, baguettes, and pastries. One of his innovative bakers created LOAF’s “Nuts about Seeds” loaf and the curry bread is a popular alternative for toasted sandwiches.
Cheesecakes by Alex – Alex Amoroso has his own style of muffins, breads, scones and pastries. Vera Amoroso also brings cheesecakes, of course. The Market was part of Alex and Vera’s business beginnings. We’re proud to have them return to the market this year.
Baby Cake Sweets – Lisa LeBlanc’s home bakery is perfect for fancy cookies, unusual muffins, pound cakes, and other surprises. Holidays bring out the best of Lisa’s designs and flavors. Bet she can help you prepare for any occasions with her skillfully decorated sugar cookies.
Feeberts Bakery – Feeberts is a daily vendor that recently joined the market and occasionally joins the market on Saturday. The majority of Felicia’s products are gluten free: cookies, confections, cupcakes, and more.
Cookie Gurlie – Cheryl Pressley is our newest Wednesday baker. Spicy cookies are just the thing for fall and winter months and Cheryl’s specialty is in the title of one of her products – “Not Your Mother’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Her cookies are serious works of culinary art.
Finally, we celebrate and congratulate Izula Fentress on her retirement this fall from the Market. After 50 plus years, Izula has been long associated with the market and she will be missed as much as her pound cakes and brownies.
”…one day in winter, on my return home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent for one of those squat, plump little cakes called “petites madeleines,” which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell. And soon, mechanically, dispirited after a dreary day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory – this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. I had ceased now to feel mediocre, contingent, mortal. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I sensed that it was connected with the taste of the tea and the cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could, no, indeed, be of the same nature. Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it?”
– Rembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust
(Article contributed by Charlie Brummitt)