Dive chef Kyle Hopfensperger and sous chef Daniel Ciameroni at the Sea Bright Farmers’ Market. Their salsa, below. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
Last week, the still-new Sea Bright Farmers’ Market added a weekly feature: local restaurant chefs’ demonstrations and tastings.
First up were Dive chef Kyle Hopfensperger and sous chef Daniel Ciameroni, both 29 years old, who brought youthful exuberance and a vat of salsa for shoppers to try.
Not so much a demonstration as a tasting, the event gave the pair a chance to offer suggestions on what to buy at the market and how to use it.
“The fresh white peaches and watermelon in the salsa came from two local farms,” Hopfensperger said. Jalapeno peppers – pickled in-house at Dive, across the street on Ocean Avenue – gave the salsa a spicy kick. Finely chopped white onion added additional bite, making the salsa less sweet than you’d think.
“We’re bringing  bar food to a new level,” Ciameroni said.
Shoppers perused produce at the market. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
Organizers would like to make the demos a regular feature of the weekly market, held in the municipal parking lot.
“We are hoping to have chef demonstrations from all of the restaurants in Sea Bright,” said market co-founder Christine Gizzi Giaimo. “When we run out of Sea Bright restaurants, maybe we’ll ask the Rumson restaurants to come here, too.”
With a growing vendor list, the customers are showing up street-side and sand-side in bathing suits. Bread and cake, made by Baker’s Bounty in Linden, and olives, pickles, and sauerkraut from Pickle Licious out of Teaneck, keep it Jersey local.
The Sea Bright Farmers’ Market is open on Thursdays from 2 to 7 p.m. Free food demonstrations and tastings are expected to continue through the season. Hopfensperger will be on hand again this week for another demo, followed by another later in the day by Billy G’s Bistro.
