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4 Great Finds at Orlando's Farmers' Markets
Orlando is full of farmers markets, each with its own unique personality and special finds. Behind each market is a group of people with the common goal of connecting a product they’re passionate about with their neighbors in the community.
Here, we’ll introduce you to just some of the people you can meet at Orlando’s local markets.
Gingers Baking Co
In July 2020, Mandy Kashnow-Gay took a leap of faith and quit her full-time job to focus on her passion: baking. Growing up in Massachusetts, she learned her way around the kitchen from her mother and grandparents, who were always making homemade treats.
Mandy Kashnow-Gay of Gingers Baking Co
As Mandy developed her own style of baking, she started making whoopie pies for her husband, who had never had one before. The New England style treat features a creamy filling sandwiched between two fluffy cake rounds. In addition to the usual chocolate variety, Mandy has explored flavors like carrot cake, peaches and cream, strawberry crunch and many others.
“It went from me doing lots of markets to getting repeat business,” she says.
In fact, through her participation with the Winter Garden Farmers Market, Mandy met decision makers from the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin who loved her whoopie pies. That connection led to the treats being served in the grab-and-go stores inside both resorts as well as the new Swan Reserve.
“Working for myself has been the best, most empowering thing,” she says.
You can find Ginger Baking Co’s scratch-made treats year-round at the Winter Garden Farmers Market. In the fall, she participates in Downtown St. Cloud’s Monthly Market and the quarterly Virginia Drive Live! event in Ivanhoe Village.
Connect with Ginger Baking Co
Staff member of Oh My Guac prepares for customers
Oh My Guac
Family recipes are the heart behind the creamy guacamole, spicy pico de gallo, savory ceviche and sweet mango salsa that Luwis Lopez and her team at Oh My Guac serve at local Central Florida farmers markets. It’s not unusual to see the team at Oh My Guac making additional batches of their famous guacamole during market hours. With a consistent line, each fresh batch goes quickly.
When asked about the ingredient you don’t commonly see in guacamole – cucumbers – Luwis responds that it’s part of the family recipe. It’s simply the way that her husband’s grandmother made it.
Eating the guacamole as a dip is the easiest way to consume it. But Luwis explains that in Central America, where her family is from, they often have avocado as a side dish with rice and a meat. The same can be done with Oh My Guac’s guacamole, or you can serve the mango salsa on top of chicken and the ceviche alongside steamed rice.
You will find Oh My Guac each Friday at the Windermere Farmers Market, Saturday at the Winter Garden Farmers Market, and Sunday at the Celebration Farmers Market.
Connect with Oh My Guac
Gardner’s Fresh Produce
Bradley Gardner of Gardner’s Fresh Produce is one of the OGs of the Winter Garden Farmers Market. When it first started, he had a small space in the middle of the market and sold out within an hour and a half. Now, he sets up in a large space beneath the pavilion that accommodates thousands of people each Saturday, with multiple registers open and team members continuously restocking the aisles.
Bradley Gardner of Gardner’s Fresh Produce
Despite its size, you will often find Bradley chatting with customers, remembering their names and produce preferences. He’ll guide them to what they’re looking for and answer questions about where certain items came from that week.
Outside of the market, he works on his family’s 55-acre farm in Groveland, where they grow southern cow peas (black eyed peas), green beans and other crops. He also works directly with growers around the state and country to get a reasonable price on the rest of the produce you will find at the market so he can pass the savings on to his customers.
“It’s a lot of risk because everything you see out here is already paid for,” he says, noting Florida’s weather conditions as potential risk for both selling and growing. “If you can do this and do it well, you can do anything.”
Connect with Gardner’s Fresh Produce
Staff member of Orlando City Pasta greets us as we walk up
Orlando City Pasta
For the family behind Orlando City Pasta, the art of pasta making was passed down through generations of Italian relatives who made it every Sunday by hand. Their website states that making and sharing fresh pasta around the family table was “a time-honored tradition” their father passed down to them and that they now share with the Orlando community.
The fresh pasta is made using simple ingredients balanced with fresh flavors. At each market, you will find a variety of pasta shapes with unique flavors like sriracha or squid ink linguini and garlic chive ziti. There are also unique stuffed pastas like braised brisket or spinach artichoke ravioli. Some varieties are vegan as well.
It’s easy to connect with the people at each market. They are always open to answering questions about each option, what it’s made with, and how to cook it. Because, of course, you don’t want to end up with overcooked fresh pasta. It just wouldn’t do the product justice.
You can find Orlando City Pasta at the Windermere Farmers Market on Friday, the Winter Garden and Winter Park Farmers Markets on Saturday, and the Clermont Farmers Market on Sunday.
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View atop Winter Garden Farmers Market
Farmers markets are a special part of the Orlando community. Supporting vendors there often means you’re supporting a family-run business or an individual reaching for their dreams. There are so many more of these small businesses that deserve recognition for their amazing products.
Who else should we add to this list?
