"Fork it Over" for the Westport, CT Farmers' Market!
On Saturday evening, I was invited to a really fun and delicious event in Westport, Connecticut, the town where I resided for many years. It was called “Fork it Over” and was a benefit for the Westport Farmers’ Market, which was founded in 2006 by the late Paul Newman and his Dressing Room Restaurant partner, Chef Michael Nischan, with a total of 14 vendors. Today, that number has more than doubled. The market, a non-profit organization, is open year-round and works with farmers, vendors, and community groups to promote local, sustainable food. “Fork it Over” was organized to raise proceeds to help support various outreach and education programs and food programs that Westport Farmers’ Market is involved with.
My friend, Sal Gilbertie, of Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens, offered a large greenhouse for the occasion. Guests at this sold-out event were treated to foods prepared by five of the area’s finest chefs – Michel Nischan of Dressing Room, Matt Storch of Match, Bill Taibe of leFarm and The Whelk, Tim LaBant of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale, and John Barricelli of SoNo Baking Co. & Café. And, Fountainhead Wines & Distillations poured carefully selected French and California wines to pair with the delectable bites.
1 Here I am with my friend, the legendary Sal Gilbertie.
2 It was indeed, one magical night of great food & wine.
3 Sal and I are joined by Lori Cochran-Dougall, the Market Director, who is responsible for bringing product from Connecticut's finest farms and purveyors for the community to enjoy.
4 The event was held in Sal's large greenhouse, which is also the winter home of the Westport Farmers' Market.
5 All of the furniture and decor was provided by Lillian August. http://www.lillianaugust.com/
6 Wonderful hassocks for sitting
7 This is Chef Michel Nischan with his team - Lori and Jon.
8 Michel served crispy pork belly with a soft poached egg and sunchoke mustard, plus warm roasted beets with storage onions and whipped yogurt.
9 Michel Nischan - Crispy pork belly
10 My plate with crispy pork belly with warm roasted beets - yum!
11 This is Matt Storch of Match, who had an amazing selection.
12 Matt Storch - Naked Ravioli: ricotta and herb gnudi rolled in brown butter on charred Wave Hill Bread
13 Matt Storch - Ahi Blocks: raw tuna rolled in blood orange, jalapeño, basil with a dot of black truffle
14 Matt Storch - Short rib nugget with feta, za'taar, and pomegranate
15 Matt Storch - Veggie Banh Mai: micro cilantro, carrot, cucumber, hoisin, and rice noodles topped with spicy aioli
16 Posing with Bill Taibe
17 I love eating at Bill's leFarm restaurant and I cannot wait to try his latest venture, The Whelk.
18 Bill's lovely wife, Rachel
19 Bill Taibe - Foie gras terrine coupled with marmalade served on winter squash toast
20 Bill is masterful at roasting vegetables.
21 Bill Taibe - Roasted beets and carrots partnered with Beltane goat cheese dip
22 Bill also served smoked bluefish paté with ham on Parker House rolls and Greyledge beef chili.
23 Music was provided by Jay Stollman Entertainment
24 One great prize at the Live Auction was to have Sal Gilbertie, himself, come to your home and design a kitchen garden just for you, including a $500 gift certificate to Gilbertie's Herb Gardens for materials.
25 Enjoying a taste at Tim LaBant's station - Tim served sushi grade fluke dressed with citrus, pink pepper & micro-nasturtium. Plus, braised leeks with soft egg atop Wave Hill toast, Pleasant cow cheese and a grain of paradise.
26 Tim LaBant - Sweet potato, pork crumble, and watercress served in an eggshell
27 Tim LaBant - Bacon lollipop
28 Wine parings were provided by Fountainhead Wines & Distillations and Fountainhead Selections.
29 It didn't take long for a large crowd to gather at this sold out event.
30 The lines were long at each station.
31 With my friend, Jim Klinko from Furniture on Consignment in Westport, CT. http://www.fine2consign.com/
32 And with my producer of special events, Judy Morris and her husband, Jim. Judy is very active with the farmers' market and was on the design committee of Fork it Over.
33 Here I am with my potter friend Frances Palmer and her husband Wally. http://francespalmerpottery.com/
34 With Michael and Debbie Lonsdale - Debbie worked in my catering business many years ago.
35 Even though Sal Gilbertie's Westport greenhouse is closed for the season, the retail business is still open for business. Sal also has a large wholesale greenhouse operation in Easton, CT.
36 Beautiful topiaries and garden ornaments
37 A table filled with lovely begonias, one of my favorite plants
38 There were several very interesting items to bid on in the silent auction. A month of unlimited yoga classes sounds good to me!
39 And so does a relaxing acupuncture session at Arogya Holistic Healing of Westport! I used to go there when I lived in Westport.
40 So does fly fishing on the beautiful Housatonic River in Cornwall Bridge in northern CT!
41 And so does a butcher class at the fabulous new Craft Butcher in Westport.
42 With John Barricelli of The Sono Baking Company & Cafe
43 John, of course, provided all the gorgeous and delicious deserts for the evening.
44 John Barricelli - Caramel whipped cream with apple pizza
45 John Barricelli - Lemon meringue and chocolate tartelettes
46 Yes, that is a gold leaf garnish!
47 John Barricelli - Assorted cookies
48 John Barricelli - More tartelettes and pecan sticky bars
49 John Barricelli - Tiramisù
50 John Barricelli - Beet and carrot cake with goat cheese frosting
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
This benefit is so fortunate to have support of you and your community. Farmers Market is Paul Newman's legacy as a man who also taught us LIVING. You look lovely having fun.
Posted by: ann | January 31st, 2012 at 3:03 am
Hi Martha,
Wonderful event, so delicious food. John Barricelli is amazing, his recipes are delcious and I love to watch him on your show and on everyday tv show. I ordered his book from Amazon UK cant wait to receive it.
Best wishes
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | January 31st, 2012 at 9:17 am
Hi Martha, How fun it is to see your visit to so many delightful places all around your northeast area! Seeing places connected to Paul Newman in Westport, Connecticut near where you used to live is fabulous! I miss Paul Newman and I know you do, too! The people connected to that Farmers' Market are super and seeing the areas finest chefs was terrific! I loved seeing the special websites you shared with us and the foods offered by those great chefs were so delicious looking! Seeing John Barricelli again was absolutely great and would love to see him on your TV Show ASAP! What a fun time you must have had-you looked so lovely and happy! Hope you have another great day, Martha! Off to see how F&S are helping GK get ready for the Westminster
Posted by: Jan Erickson | January 31st, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hi Martha, Had a problem with my computer so couldn't finish last part of my comment. F&S were helping GK get ready for the Westmimster Dog Show on The Daily Wag! That is a great blogging that they do! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | January 31st, 2012 at 10:23 am
What a lovely event for such a worthy cause. There were great auction items, I would love all of them! The food looked delicious but I have to say I would have been camped out at Chef Matt Storch's station! I wanted to grab the ahi tuna right through my computer! If I ever find myself in South Norwalk Ct, I would love to check out his restauraunt Match. You looked lovely as usual Martha, love the jacket you are wearing.
Posted by: Cindy F | January 31st, 2012 at 10:27 am
Hi Martha,
What a nice benefit for a really good thing – The Farmer’s Market, and it is very impressive to note that the number of vendors has doubled since ‘06. A lot of that credit has to go to the original 7 vendors whose passion for what they do apparently emits a strong message. Paul Newman had a great idea and I think Westport was lucky to have Paul Newman. The little bit of reading I did this morning about forming a Farmer’s Market was quite interesting. We have a Farmer’s Market in my town but I never really thought about who might have organized it. They set up their tents downtown on Sunday’s but I have yet to shop there. I will now.
~
Seeing your pictures brought back memories of your Martha Stewart Living Show where Sal Gilbertie was a frequent guest and a week ago Saturday I watched a 2001 show with a segment about Furniture on Consignment with your friend Jim Klinko. You bought a picnic set and a table with a glass top that was actually a serving tray. On the show you made a straw mat backing that would show through the glass. I always planned to do something similar but never got the muslin for the back of the straw mat so it wouldn’t fall apart when I cut it. Maybe I’ll add that to my new things to do list! Trish
Posted by: Trish | January 31st, 2012 at 10:59 am
Martha,
I really enjoyed the post and the pictures. Sal Gilbertie's Herb Gardens was the perfect place to host the event. I wish I could have been there with all of those fine chefs. Cheers to you and "Fork it over"
Posted by: Vinessa | January 31st, 2012 at 11:04 am
Martha,
Looked like a fun event. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | January 31st, 2012 at 11:14 am
Yum! and where is my fork so i can sample everything!!
Posted by: sherey | January 31st, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Mouthwatering food! That looked like a really fun and relaxing event. You looked great as usual!
Posted by: Frances | January 31st, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Dear Martha,
you look amazing. You inspire me.
Posted by: Ieva | January 31st, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Chef Michel Nischan is always enthusiastic with his creations and seems to find many things in the garden. Not sure if the pigs who contributed the pork belly were ones who carefreely tore up the tender plants or he found them elsewhere. I think I would have bypassed his station and ended up at the dessert selection. But then I would have bypassed several other great food stations to start the dessert line.
How much money was raised for the farmers' market and what was the primary need?
Posted by: Margie | January 31st, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Martha, What a delight to see you with Sa Gilbertie, our mutual friend at the Farmers Market Benefit. Great to have you back in Westport. We miss you. Fondly remember doing a panel discussion with you and Sal at a benefit for Paul Newman's HOLE IN THE WALL GANG. It was a week long event with a different program each day connected to the House Tour at the historic Adams House you had purchased on Long Lots Road in Westport. A sumptious luncheon following program at your special TURKEY HILL home. I was fortunate to be seated next to "Big Martha" your amazing mother. You continue to do good works and look better each year. Keep going. Westport misses you.
Posted by: Carole Maddock | January 31st, 2012 at 9:06 pm
The farmers market here in Fort Collons, Co. are getting bigger and better all the time with many artisans as well with jelly, breads, honey, Italian sauces, its wonderful. I'm so worried about the Martha show. Good luck to all of you, and all of us too!!
Posted by: Dalene Parker | February 1st, 2012 at 12:49 am
Martha,
So great to meet you at "Fork It Over"! Thanks for your kind words and glad you enjoyed our music. What a great night!
Best,
Jay Stollman
Posted by: Jay | February 1st, 2012 at 2:34 am
Hi Martha,
Good to see you looking so great. Your visit reminds me of all of the assistance you provided to the Westport Historical Society in years past as well as the great talk you gave to the Y's Men about ten years ago. Also, our breakfast visit with Roy Klehm. Hope that you saw the material Laura passed on about the new Y facility at Camp Mahackeno.
Pete
Posted by: Pete Wolgast | February 1st, 2012 at 11:41 am
You sound as if you had fun, food and charity, i always love that combination.
Posted by: benita wheeler | February 1st, 2012 at 2:39 pm