This Week @ The Westport Farmers Market

Mark Sharon, Head Chef of Collyer Catering in Westport, will be offering 2 summer dishes at the Westport Market on July 15 between 10-2.

Moorefield Herb Farm in Trumbull was the inspiration for Mark Sharon’s Vietnamese Summer Rolls, which he will be preparing fresh at the market.  These veggie packed rolls are the perfect summer dish as the only cooking required is the hot water needed to soften the rice wrappers.  The fragile wrappers will be demystified for shoppers on Thursday, as Mark will lay out his ingredients and demonstrate how to work with the delicate rolls.  Hot water softens the wrappers and allows them to be rolled with a wide variety of fillings.  Inside you will find Vietnamese coriander  providing a bright citrus flavor combined with the raw veggies from Riverbank Farm.  Bean sprouts, sweet peppers, carrots and snow peas are finely chopped and simply flavored with the bright coriander. 

Chef Sharon will also be presenting his own version of “HUMMOOSE”, named for his wife and business partner Reed, whose childhood nickname was MOOSE.  Bright green cilantro is the twist here, and Sharon blends chickpeas with some other secret ingredients minus the classic sesame flavored tahini.  Come out and taste it with his baked pita chips.

Collyer Catering is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Reed Collyer and Mark Sharon.  They are a full service company, happy to cook for small or large gatherings.  Their Westport digs will be expanded in October to include their first retail space.  This 1000 square foot space will more than double the area they have been working out of.  The focus will be on grab and go lunch items, seasonal soups, easy to reheat dinners and appetizers ready to serve.  They are happy to deliver.

The Westport Farmers’ Market has inspired them to become better aquainted  with local growers.  When the gals at Riverbank Farm plied their young kids with super sweet, bite size tomatoes, they were won over.  Their intention is to foster new relationships with some of the growers they met at market in order to purchase more local produce for their catering and retail company.

As always, come early for tastes of these chilled, easy summer dishes.  Chef Sharon will be presenting between 10-2.