Working at a farmer's market!

I've been looking for a part-time job for the longest time, and I've mainly applied as a waiting staff at all the famous restaurants, so that I can learn more about good food, and of course, there's always staff perks ;) I haven't been very successful though, it just isn't that easy to find a job in London. Then recently I got a reply from London Farmers' Market, about a job as market manager! Oh it's the best job ever, I never even thought I would get this job out of all the jobs I applied for.

I firmly believe the secret behind great food lies in the care and ingredients that go into the food. I love spending that extra time and effort on real food, I love picking out fresh, local produce and daydreaming about the food I'll make with them. Now I get to take it one step further and get to know the farmers and producers even better. I had a lovely chat with the milk lady who told me how cute buffalos actually are, and the apple guy about how lousy my shoes are, and the pork man about cheap trotters. Makes waking up at 5am on a cold blustery rainy Saturday worth it (:

Also makes me more determined to get my shopping done at the Farmers' Market instead. It's so much better knowing where your food comes from. Would you rather go for conventional, local, seasonal produce from a producer you know, or organic, imported producer you hear about on the label? I used to fall in the latter group. I think I'm a convert. No more oven-dried cherry tomatoes in winter.. but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy them still, it's just that I'm going to put more emphasis on what nature has offered us this season.

Anyway, it's not only about eating real foods, but food that's right for you as an individual, and that changes according to the season too. (I've been reading up a bit about Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's worth looking into for anyone interested in how our food relates to our body, because TCM believes in nutrition as the first line of rescue/defence, not medicine. How true is that!) So, while we're still in the midst of winter, I'm going to prepare more warming stews and leave the cold salads for summer!