TOPSHAM

With the melodious voices of musicians singing and plucking away on guitars in the background, chef Jenn Legnini recently handed a freshly grilled herb marinated mushroom panini to a customer stopping by the Midcoast Winter Farmers Market.

Also popular that day was the cider BBQ chicken panini — apple cider BBQ stewed chicken, carrot and cabbage slaw and Sonnental cheddar.

The new Midcoast Market Cafe has already drawn a following, said Legnini, who has attended the Topsham market in the past to sell preserves and as the owner of Turtle Rock Farm. At the conclusion of the last market, members talked about ways they could get people from the community to attend the market and make it a better experience for customers, and the idea of the cafe was born. The market is a little off the beaten path, but it is also what makes it so great — with plenty of space.

The winter market is open Fridays from 1-5 p.m. in the exhibition hall at the Topsham Fairgrounds. The cafe opens up at 12:30 p.m. and stays open during market hours. A chef with all her catering licenses, Legnini decided to give the cafe a shot.

Her goal is to always have two sandwiches and a soup on hand. The menu items are all made with ingredients from the farmers market, from the slaw to the bread.

“This is all out at the market right now,” she said. “There’s squash to make butter out of, this is all from Whatley’s, all the fresh vegetables,” including the red onions in the red onion relish, made with rosemary, honey and apple cider vinegar, which she said is wonderful on sandwiches and the brine makes a great salad dressing.

If that doesn’t sound delicious enough, Legnini just returned from the Good Food Award gala in San Francisco where she received a medal for her garlic scape relish from food activist and chef Alice Waters. Good Food Award finalists were selected from nearly 2,000 entries by using a blind tasting, as well as by examining the sustainability of the products and how connected they were to communities and cultural traditions.

Legnini developed the relish on a small vegetable farm after an abundant harvest of scapes, the tender stems and flower buds found on a garlic plant. Farmers, she finds, have far more extensive recipes and kitchen knowledge of the produce they offer.

“They’re the ones you ask, what do you do with it?” Legnini said.

The cafe and market can expose people to foods they’ve never had or foods prepared in a way they’d never tried. She said we seem to be emerging from of a semi-homemade generation. At a cooking demonstration last year, everyone gathered around to see her make mayonnaise from scratch. It’s egg yoke and oil and you can add mustard and salt, so the mayonnaise can be a culinary delight itself.

“I think maybe some of our palates need an education” on what oils and eggs taste like, she said. Mayonnaise out of a jar does its job, but has no flavor for her anymore.

Legnini was hired to work at the New Beet Market, which is located at Brunswick Landing. The restaurant will source everything directly from farmers, mostly through established relationships in the Merrymeeting Bay area.

The market cafe took a break for a couple weeks, but recently reopened.

“We’re really starting to see some regular faces,” Legnini said. “It’s the middle of winter and we’ve got great music, tables to hang out and warm coffee and warm food. … Bring the kids (and) have lunch, shop, listen to music and then you’re ready for a coffee and a pastry.”

“I think it’s fantastic, I’ve been coming the last couple of years,” said Debra Csenge, who recently moved to Utah from Topsham, but is still in the area. “I come whenever I can and I love getting the fresh stuff and it’s great knowing who your food is coming from. And there’s quite a bit of variety,” from baked goods to produce and eggs. “I can just go all week on what I get from the farmers market.

“I think the cafe is fantastic too, because the cafe attracts people and keeps people here longer,” Csenge continued. “It adds to the community feeling, to have people together talking and eating, have a good time, and the music. It just makes the (market) a whole experience.”

“I think it (the cafe) takes it to a whole other level,” said Ben Whatley of Whatley Farms in Topsham, after admiring the sweet taste of the cider BBQ chicken in his sandwich. “There’s not many places, if any, that you can go and get something like this.”

The cafe has only helped the market and changed the vibe about staying at the market “and not just shopping, but enjoying the atmosphere,” he said.

dmoore@timesrecord.com