BRIDGEPORT—St. Vincent’s Farm Stand will host a cooking demo by a local chef Tuesday, July 18 from 12 noon-1 pm at the site of its farmers market, located immediately in front of its main entrance. The event is free and open to the public and is one of four cooking demos to be held at St. Vincent’s Famers Market. The other three dates for cooking demos are August 8, September 12 and October 10. No registration is necessary.
St. Vincent’s Farmer Stand operates every Tuesday from 11:30 am-4 pm through October 31.
“Bringing Good Food for All” is the philosophy of Chef Raquel Rivera-Pablo, of A Pinch of Salt, who will prepare a “summer beet, greens, peas & quinoa salad with orange vinaigrette,” using the fresh produce that Cecarelli Farms of Northford will provide. Free samples will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and recipes will be provided to all. Chef Raquel will give cooking tips as she prepares the dish and will take questions. Cecarelli Farms will be providing fresh beets, kale, chard, lettuce and peas for sale that day at the market.
“We are delighted to have Chef Raquel with us to demonstrate how easy it can be to prepare healthy yet delicious food on a manageable budget,” said St. Vincent’s Chief Mission Integration Officer Bill Hoey, MAHCM, LCSW. “It is an exciting new extension of our farmers market, which demonstrates our mission to respond to the needs of the community and bring fresh and healthy food to area residents of all income levels.”
Chef Raquel Rivera-Pablo is passionate about educating communities on the importance of healthy cooking, understanding nutritional information and shopping on a budget. Chef Raquel graduated with highest honors from the Institute of Culinary Education and completed her internship at the legendary Le Bernardin in New York City. In 2009, she created her own cooking business, A Pinch of Salt, LLC, offering hands-on cooking instruction on the preparation of delicious, healthy, inexpensive and easy to recreate meals. Because of her dedicated service to City Harvest in New York, Chef Raquel received the honor of an invitation to the launch of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative at the White House South Lawn.
Since moving to Bridgeport in 2013, Chef Raquel has shared her cooking knowledge with the community through her partnerships with Cooking Matters, the YMCA, the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative.
Parking for the event in visitor garage is free with validated ticket.
St. Vincent’s Farm Stand has operated since 2009, first under the auspices of the Wholesome Wave Foundation, and since 2015, as a member of the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative (BFMC), a unique partnership of seven independent farmers markets, serving fresh fruits and vegetables to Bridgeport residents in neighborhoods throughout the city. The goal is to ensure Bridgeport residents have access to fresh, healthy, locally grown foods and to support local businesses. In addition to coordinating some administrative and marketing responsibilities for the seven markets, BFMC is also responsible for providing resources to double the SNAP/EBT purchases of customers, which along with other government funded incentives, allow low-income residents access to healthy fresh foods available at the markets. The Farmers Market is another way in which St. Vincent’s has responded to community needs and supports its mission of caring for all most especially the poor and vulnerable.
