Market To Table

By: Cristina Mueller Photographs by Adrian Gaut Marco Island

The greenmarket is the natural milieu of Gerald Sombright, who grew up enchanted by the sights and smells of St. Louis’ Soulard Farmers Market. Now, the chef de cuisine of Ario at the new JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort in Southwest Florida and recent contestant of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” shops the local Marco Island market for unique tropical fruits—rambutan, dragon fruit, jackfruit, Buddha’s hand, lychees—like those seen here. “You have to figure out the things that are indigenous to where you are,” Sombright says. He advises talking directly with farmers for the best experience and education. It’s also key to work with what you have. At the time of this interview, plantains were abundant— perhaps overly so. But in Sombright’s hands? “We’re doing a plantain jam on rye toast with a grilled smoked foie gras torchon on top. It’s like a cross between a pastrami sandwich and a peanut butter and jelly—I always try to incorporate something nostalgic with something modern.” As for the benefits of cooking seasonally, Sombright calls it an antidote to the culture of instant gratification. “When your ingredients are in season, you aren’t cheating the ingredients. You give them the ability to be absolutely perfect in that moment in time.”

Peru’s varied terrain—lush rainforests, fertile coastal valleys, Andes mountains and tropical savannas— is a boon for the local greenmarkets, says Julio Ferradas, executive chef of the JW Marriott Lima. Between the Saturday market in Miraflores and Sunday’s market in the arts district of Barranco, there are dizzying assortments of Peruvian and nonnative crops, including ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth; tubers like sweet potatoes, mashua and oca; and peppers such as aji amarillo, panca chile and mirasol chile. Ferradas, who describes his culinary style as “well- executed comfort food, with Peruvian flavors,” believes in fostering strong relationships with organic farms like Don Torcuato, a longtime partner of the hotel. And shopping in season, says Ferradas, simply makes sense: “Best ingredients, best prices, best quality.” It’s a win for chefs, farmers and diners alike.

The souks of Dubai can be eye-opening for visitors: “You’d better put your haggling cap on,” says Culinary Director Sebastian Nohse of the
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. Nohse, who grew up in Germany, confesses he still struggles with the practice, but it’s well worth entering the fray. Shoppers can choose from a heady array of herbs and spices, like sumac and za’atar. Yet with a climate as extreme as that of the United Arab Emirates, it can be difficult to find fresh local produce. Pomegranates and dates are traditional essentials, but much of what’s found at the markets is flown in from elsewhere. So the hotel has partnered with Ripe, an organic farm collective, for vegetables such as revelatory tomatoes. “In our Italian restaurant Positano, we serve the tomatoes with just olive oil, salt, pepper, basil leaves and handmade burrata,” Nohse says. “Guests ask us how we get them so sweet—they taste like candies.”

Eating locally is always top of mind for Chef Melissa Kelly: Primo, her original restaurant in Rockland, Maine, is on a four-acre farm, while the restaurant’s outposts in Florida and Arizona—at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes and the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa—have flourishing gardens onsite. “I have to get my head in the game when I step off the plane,” she says. “In Orlando we have a papaya tree in our garden, and pomelos, Persian limes and kumquats. Then I go to Tucson, where we have fig trees and artichokes! So I really have to evaluate where I am.” Not everything for the restaurants can be grown in the small plots, though, which makes market trips vital. In Orlando, Kelly frequents the Winter Park and Lake Eola Park markets, where she picks up local vegetables like jicama and chayote (“we’ll shave them raw in a salad and pair that with Florida gulf shrimp”), orange blossom or avocado honey, and cage-free eggs from chickens, guinea hens and quail. Kelly’s best advice for newbies: Make a ritual of going every week, and get there early, before the choice items are picked over. “My market opens at 9,” she says with a laugh. “And I’m there at 8:30!”