Introduction to Food & Beverage Management

Market Photo Essay

Large Leaf Basil

Union Square Green Market

Upon arriving the Union Square Green Market I immediately noticed the amount of variety of products that are sold there and some of them are as normal from different types of apple all the way to the immense amounts of ginger. How could anyone choose from such a large amount of produce? I walk around the market until I notice something a little different from the rest. There was a company named “Petal PlAnts and Flowers” selling just that. Plants and flowers were all that could be seen when walking up to the company’s booth. I look around and see a few familiar flowers and herbs until one caught my attention; a basil plant. Instantly I remembered my kitchen when I was younger. My mom had bought me my own large leaf basil plant. I kept it in the kitchen and grew it there. From it, I would make tomato, basil, and mozzarella salads, garnish pasta dishes with it, and top my homemade pizza with it. Basil soon became not only my favorite herb but my way to remember how my passion for cooking came about. I looked around the market and thought to myself, this produce is mostly used to make dishes taste good but it reserves a small part of itself for that one person who finds comfort in them which is what I found with basil.

* Borough Hall Market in Brooklyn – Between Court St and Montague St*

I decided to go to the Green Market in Borough Hall. I have passed it dozens of times but I never stopped to buy anything, even though I know the food is fresh. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I would stop by the market and pick up a few things. This year my family and my boyfriend’s family are coming to my house for a dinner party and I have to make a lot of food. Last year, for the first time, I tried mashed sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries. Before that, I had only had sweet potatoes in one form; with brown sugar and marshmallows. So this Thanksgiving I am going to try making sweet potatoes in different dishes. The sweet potatoes I found at the green market look delicious and I am looking forward to making them for the holidays. If all goes well for Thanksgiving dinner, then this could turn into a regular vegetable in my diet. Maybe even my new favorite vegetable. Here’s to hoping.

My Favorite Fruit?

*97^th Street Green Market, West 97^th Street and Columbus Avenue

I grew up in Hawaii with my crazy hippie family; my mom, to this day, grows a lot of her own fruits and vegetables.  Bananas, papayas, guava, passion fruit, mangoes, tangerines, sweet potatoes, carrots, eggplant and tomatoes were always on our table. I never really appreciated how great it was to have these products available year round until I moved here to New York City.  A few years ago, my friend Sue, who has a farm in Woodstock New York, gave me a crazy looking tomato; she told me it was an heirloom tomato.  It was misshaped, wrinkled and speckled with odd colors and patterns.  When I got home that evening, I anxiously cut into this strange fruit; it was undoubtedly the best tomato I have ever tasted.  I now look forward to “tomato season” where you can find me scouring my local green market to find my favorite fruit.

*This is a sample of the assignment; the photo is a stock photo