Indie Food Fest 2024

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Dozens of makers participated in the Indie Food Fest on May 11, 2024, at Market Hall Foods in Oakland. On a beautiful spring afternoon, they held court at booths on the sidewalks outside near the Rockridge BART Station and on College Avenue. Now that the annual Fancy Food Show that used to take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco has moved to Las Vegas, this festival provides a welcome opportunity to meet independent, artisan food makers and to sample their cheeses, charcuterie, caviar, olive oil, sweet treats, spices, condiments, wine, and other specialties.

The participants included:

• Katie Reicher, the Executive Chef of Greens Restaurant in San Francisco,
• a team from Marin French Cheese Company, which was established in 1865 and is the oldest cheese company in the U.S.,
• Anthony Teav of Mama Teav’s Hot Garlic,
• a team from Côte West, a family run urban winery based in Oakland,
• Jared Kent Murray of Mommenpop,
• Rick LaFranchi of Nicasio Valley Cheese,
• Justin Chao of Le Bon Garçon,
• and many others.

One of the nation’s foremost food and wine consultants, Roberta Klugman, was there looking stylish as always in an elaborate hat, as was Alice Medrich, aka the “First Lady of Chocolate.” Medrich, through her books, teaching, and former Cocolat shops in the Bay Area, creates decadent confections that came to be known as California Truffles, which are ubiquitous now (large chocolate truffles that are often filled with everything from ganache to liqueurs to fruit). Medrich and other food luminaries stopped by the fest just for fun and camaraderie, evidencing how many places in the East Bay are world-class food and wine destinations.

https://www.markethallfoods.com/

Published on May 23, 2024