New Lenox Says Oui Oui to French Market

Maybe it's called the French Market, but New Lenox's new farmers market is all American and largely locally owned. It opened Saturday and was a hit.

Last year, the New Lenox farmers market , in part because the previous operator told his clients not to return, according to those who participated.

"We went from something last year that was needed and wanted but we didn't achieve," said Village Trustee Annette Bowden. "This year, we far exceeded our expectations for opening day."

There are 14 vendors, including two farmers. Shoppers can purchase anything from gourmet cheese, to fresh fruits and vegetables, kettle corn, bakery goods, free range chicken, hot pizza, plants, packaged dips and Pampered Chef.

All the vendors are local. With the exception of Pampered Chef, nearly all the market's items are produced in Illinois or Wisconsin. 

What makes the market French is the framework. The village hired the French company Bensidoun USA, Inc to organize the market. Bensidoun is the largest manager of open air markets in Chicagoland ouside the Chicago Farmers' Market system, said regional manager Leslie Cahill.

Bensidoun imported the physical structure from Paris. There is a 2 1/2-foot overhang that provides cover for the shoppers as well as the vendors.

Bensidoun provides $30,000 worth of equipment, insures the site and organizes the vendors, Cahill explained. 

"This is so all American," she said. "It is super local."

Variety of Vendors

Leo Goldman, of Manhattan, was selling a variety of products for Farm Fresh Food Stuffs. The Lombard company features free range chicken, eggs, beef sticks, cheeses and more. The sign said everything is raised locally, outdoors and free of hormones or antibiotics.

"(The chickens) are outside their entire lives unless it is too cold to be outside," he said.

Goldman explained that each product package lists the name of the farm that product came from. By linking to its site, shoppers can watch how each product is raised and produced at each local farm.

Other vendors included:

• Colleen's Pastry Lab in New Lenox featured blueberry and lemon scones, chocolate chip brownies, granola and lemon muffins.
• Kernel Sweetooth has nearby locations in Frankfort and Tinley Park. Owner Gary Kovarik said all their kettle corn is hand-popped. Shoppers can find cheese corn, carmel corn and a local favorite, the Chicago mix.
• Homer Glen residents Laura Toren and her mother Dorothy Toren sell Dan-Dee Creations. Their products include pre-packaged mixes for vegetable and fruit dips, muffins, breads, scones, brownies, no-bake cheesecake, iced coffee and blended drinks.
• More than 30 varieties of cheese were available from Stamper Cheese out of Chicago. Gary Harrison was cutting samples of gourmet cheeses from Wisconsin. While he was passing samples of a pistachio cheese log and a French-style bleu cheese, he offered cooking ideas. He said the French bleu was especially fantastic stuffed in the pocket of a pork chop.
• En Joi Bake Shop in Channahon had a table filled with homemade goodies. Their box of cupcakes included carrot, red velvet, chocolate, white, and strawberry rhubarb. Each had a thick layer of frosting twirled on top. They also had pies, breads, turtles, cookies, croutons and turnovers.
• Provo's Bakery in Addison also offered homemade goods of a slightly different sort. They featured butter cookies, Danish coffee cakes, pound cake, strudels and pies.
• Flavored olive oils, vinegars and hot sauces were available through Orland Park's Simply the Best, Inc. Shoppers can sample many of the dips and sauces. On the back of their flyer lists numerous cooking suggestions, including how to jazz up leftovers.

Shoppers could find numerous other items as well. There were dozens of hanging baskets, potted plants and flowers and tables of fresh fruits and vegetables.

"Now we have a nice little market here," Cahill said.

The market will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 15. Beggars Pizza in New Lenox has a booth that opens at 10 a.m. All vendors are located in the south parking lot of Village Hall, 1 Veterans Pkwy.