Cooking demonstrations at Whangarei Growers' Market have proved a hit, with more than 200 people sampling the fruity treats prepared by NorthTec's hospitality students. Jeff Griggs of Re-localising Our Food movement said the idea was to get more fresh vegetables and fruit into the diet of Northlanders, with the cooking demonstrations starting last Saturday.
"The market is obviously the place where you are going to get the freshest locally-grown produce. So this is a logical extension of promoting that," Mr Griggs said.
The demonstrations show how ingredients available at the markets could be combined into healthy meals. All food used in the demonstrations is donated by market growers, who then carry red flags on their stalls to show people where recipe items could be bought.
NorthTec hospitality programme leader Lisette Buckle said it was a good opportunity for her students to get some exposure.
"We got heaps of interest. We did over 150 smoothies and 100 fruit salads, which is a taster of things to come ... By the end we had people queuing up."
