Mercado Fresco de Slow Food Yucatan

by Monique Duval

NOTE: THE LAST FRIDAY FOR THE MARKET IS MARCH 5, 2010. STARTING ON MARCH 13 THE MARKET WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAYS.

UPDATE: Friday, Feb. 12, after the first day of the market: All I have to say is WOW!!!! It was fantastic for all of the vendors. Everyone sold out of everything! The buyers were happy, nobody complained about not finding the place. I mean, it was like we were all in nirvana or something akin...I can anticipate that other vendors, who might have been afraid of venturing out today, will be more hopeful about their prospects when they hear about the success of the other vendors. And the people who came, despite the rain, I´m so impressed with them! Everybody was gushing with enthusiasm!!!

Monday, Feb. 8, 2010:

Mercado Fresco de Slow Food Yucatan will be born this Friday, February 12, 2010 between 9 am and 1 pm. The temporary location of this market will be on the grounds of my little bread lab/quinta in Chuburna de Hidalgo (until the market can find another home in a less labyrinthian spot.) The address is Calle 31 #70 between 12 and 14. This site is located exactly kiddy-corner to the very old and very charming grocery store called El Super Farahon and, please, please, do not park in their parking lot unless you would like to find out firsthand where cars go when they go bye-bye. They are a busy store and we don´t want to interfere with their business. Please park on the street on calle 31 or on calle 12. Look for the house with the antique red dough mixer on the roof and a piñata hanging from a makeshift arch over the entrance. Look in the Related Gallery for a map.

So who are the vendors, you ask? Well, if you have a tree laden with fruit in your back yard and don't know what to do with all that organic food, perhaps you should consider being a vendor. (Scroll down to find the criterion list for vendors and how to apply.) It only costs 25 pesos per table and you can share a table with a friend. (You provide the table.) That is exactly what the amazing bio-music therapist Vanessa Calfan will be doing. Years ago she planted a passion fruit (maracuya) vine which is now a vigorous and massive plant that is sprawling and spilling in every nook and cranny of her back yard. She'll be at the market sharing her fruit. Martine Bordi, organizer of the French club Quoi de Neuf Merida, is bringing her star fruit from the Carambola tree in her back yard. This abundant tree gives more fruit than her family and friends can eat so, she, too, will be at the market. These are women who have heard about the market and have decided to share their wealth with us. That is the spirit and essence of this market and I hope that you pass that thought around. This is just a beginning. It will be a small beginning. But a meaningful one. I hope you can come. The idea is that the products are locally produced (within 100 kilometers), hopefully organic (but not necessarily so as long as its clearly identified as "not organic") and/or artisan produced.

Here is a list of some of the things that you will find on our first Friday: Fresh tofu and soy milk, quail and eggs, free range chickens and eggs, organic peanut butter and honey, locally grown vegetables and fruits (some of them organic!), homemade granola, sauces, artisan breads, organic goat cheese, dairy products. There might be fish. Every week the market will be open.* It will grow. It will contract. It will grow. It will contract. Just like breathing. But it will be there for you to turn it into what it needs to be. This is a community market born of a desire to eat pure, clean and fair food. (Check out www.slowfood.com for more info about the Slow Food movement.)

So, I hope your secret food chakra is all atwitter and that it leads you, like a dowsing rod, to find locally produced, good wholesome ingredients. And when you find the people producing these delights, please share this market information with them and urge them to participate in our market!

See you every Friday for the freshest food possible. If you would like to be on my mailing list, please write to me at moniqueduval@aol.com

*Slow Food Yucatan received generous feedback from those of you on my mailing list stating a strong preference for Saturdays as the market day. The board of Slow Food Yucatan decided to continue with the Friday market date, at least for the first month, since Feb. 12th had already been advertised in the Yucatan Today print edition. To avoid confusion, we will continue on Fridays until further notice. Check out Yucatan Today for any upcoming venue changes.

“MERCADO FRESCO DE SLOW FOOD YUCATÁN” VENDOR RESPONSIBILITIES

FEE
• You are required to pay a fee of $25 pesos to Slow Food for the right to sell your products in the market. This fee will be used to cover any expenses of the market (paper products, garbage bags, etc.) as well as to build a fund for Slow Food projects.
• Payment is due each day you attend the market, and is payable before you set up your table.

YOU WILL NEED
• Your own table and chair. Slow Food will provide tablecloths to unify the appearance of the market.
• Your own change box, complete with sufficient change for your customers’ purchases.
• Your own water for the day, snacks or whatever else to keep you comfortable.
• Your own towel or paper towels for cleaning up at the end of the day.

PARKING
• There is limited parking on the grounds of the property. Spaces on the premises should be reserved for customers. Please come early, unload your products and tables, and park on side streets nearby. DO NOT park in Super Faraón at the risk of being towed.

SETTING UP
• The market will open promptly at 9:00 am.
• Vendors should arrive no later than 8:30 am in order to unload and set up their tables in time for opening.

BATHROOM
• The bathroom on the premises is unisex.
• The bathroom is for use EXCLUSIVELY by vendors and Slow Food staff. Should customers ask for a bathroom, the polite answer is “Sorry.”
• DO NOT flush the toilet. This will cause a loss of water on the important baking day of our hostess. Instead, there will be a bucket full of water next to the toilet for that purpose.

RESPECT
• The market space is kindly hosted by Monique Duval who runs a bakery on the premises. Friday is her baking day and employees are busy with their work. Please respect the property and the workers and do not enter off-limits areas.

CLOSING SHOP
• The market will end at 1:00 pm.
• All vendors are responsible for helping to clean up. There will be a large garbage pail with garbage bag provided by Slow Food and your hostess. Please gather any accumulated trash and put it in its place.
• You must also remove all crates, boxes, bags, tables, water bottles and anything else you bring into the market.

VENDOR CRITERIA

All vendors at the Slow Food “Fresh Market” should fulfill one or more of the following criteria. PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING INTO AN EMAIL MESSAGE AND SEND IT TO chefsterling@los-dos.com

INDICATE ALL THAT APPLY TO YOUR PRODUCT:

• My products are all organic.
• My products are grown and produced within a 100 km radius of Mérida.
• My products are produced artisanally in small quantities.
• My products support local growers and families.
• My products are part of a Yucatecan/Maya culinary heritage.

VENDOR FORM

Please fill out the following form and return it no later than the Wednesday before each market day. Since space is limited, if we do not receive the form by that Wednesday, you may lose your chance to have a space in the market.

E-mail to:
chefsterling@los-dos.com

Name______________________________________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________________________________

Cell phone_________________________________________________________________________________

Product information:

Product description (if more than one, describe each briefly):

Product retail price: