Shop with a Chef at Liberty Station

If you’ve never spent time at a farmers marketing hanging out with a chef while he or she is selecting produce and other ingredients for a meal, well, you’ve been missing out. It’s one of my favorite things to do—and now you can do it, too.

Liberty Public Farmers Market, the Thursday afternoon farmers market at Liberty Station, has announced a new summer dinner series they call Shop with the Chef. Mix together a little education, a little bonding, and a terrific ingredient-driven meal and you have an idea of what you’re in for.

The Thursday night dinner series, which costs $50 per person, includes a multi-course chef’s menu (alcohol not included), preceded by a market tour with the chef. You’ll start the evening meeting at the host chef’s Liberty Station restaurant. Along with market manager Ron LaChance, the chef will offer a behind-the-scenes intro to his or her restaurant’s culinary program, and give a preview of what you can expect to find at the farmer’s market.

Then you’ll walk over with the chef and the rest of the guests to the market and be led by the chef on a personal tour, meet the farmers, enjoy some tastings, and learn what the chef’s thinking is behind the menu.

Following the tour, you’ll head back to the restaurant and enjoy your meal, made with ingredients purchased from the farmers market you were just at.