Interested in a Cook-Off? Homemade Iced Sugar Cookies? Bridgeport Farmers Market is the Place
By Julie Perine on July 31, 2015 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
Bridgeport Farmers Market is special this Sunday for a couple of reasons. It kicks off National Farmers Market Week, which runs through Aug. 8.
“The Market will kick off the week with the Country Roads Cook-Off,” said President Debbie Workman.
That is the second reason.
The Fifth Annual Country Roads Cook-Off is expected to create plenty of mouth-watering excitement. Participating in the amateur cooking competition are last year’s People’s Choice Award winner Rick Johnson, as well as Cara Ewald, Mr. and Mrs. John McCullough, Brenda Liston and Saleem Quershi.
Sponsoring this year’s People’s Choice Award is the Greater Bridgeport Convention & Visitors Bureau. In addition to presenting and describing their dishes to the judges, contestants will provide 50 tasting samples to the public.
Teams of one to three people will create one dish of their choice – an entrée, sandwich, soup, dessert or appetizer – utilizing some local-grown or market products in their recipes. Cooking starts at 10 a.m. and judging takes place around 11:30 a.m. or noon with the People’s Choice sampling to follow.
The grand prize is a free weekend at the Appalachian Food and Wine Festival to be held July of 2016 in Charleston, courtesy of the that festival and the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In addition to the cook-off, the market will be open regular hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and feature dozens of vendors.
Those attending this Sunday’s Market can expect to find plenty of fresh corn and iced summer-themed sugar cookies, among many other offerings.
Brand new to the market is Meagan Ward, who through her home-based business “Cookies by Meagan,” creates home-baked cookies in designs to suit every occasion. The new vendor is filling a niche, which BFM President Debbie Workman expects to be well received.
“We are very happy to welcome Meagan to the market,” she said. “We have several local bakers but no one doing unique sugar cookies. We think that Meagan will add to the great mix of local bakers that we already have.”
Ward started her baking adventure in December of 2013. It all began on a whim. The rest is history.
“My friend, who baked my cookies, got sick and couldn’t bake for my youngest daughter’s birthday, so she gave me her recipe and told me that she knew I could do it,” she said. “I didn’t believe her, but I wanted cookies so I baked them and they turned out delicious and looked decent.”
So when her other daughter’s birthday rolled around, she baked the cookies again.
“They looked even better and when people saw the pictures, they started asking me if I could bake cookies for them,” Ward said. “I now have a huge stockpile of cookie cutters and can do almost any design imaginable.”
Ward said she’s excited to finally start selling her cookies at BFM. She will have individually-wrapped cookies in the following themes: Watermelon slices, mason jars, Emoji, Minions, back-to-school, apples and flowers.
“I love the atmosphere (at the Market) and the crowds it draws every weekend,” she said.
She looks forward to serving her present customers and those who haven’t yet seen or tried her cookies.
Other baked goods available at the Market include cupcakes, breads, pies, cakes and pastries, all made by local bakers using some market ingredients, Workman said.
Plenty of other summer produce continues to be available at the market, as well as fresh flowers and unique artisan wares.
Workman said the Harrison County Commission will present a special proclamation declaring Aug. 2-8 National Farmers Market Week in Harrison County. That presentation will take place 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6. Three Harrison County farmers markets – including BFM - will be represented. Read more about it here:
Editor's Note: Pictured top is Cara Ewald, a participant in this year's Country Roads Cook-Off. Also pictured are Meagan Ward and some of her signature cookies.
