A feast for some of the other senses

It's not every day that a celebrity chef performs at one's local farmers' market. It's nearly as rare as weather that is 55F and sunny in Washington, DC these days. Kenton and I basked in the wonderfulness of both anomalies yesterday.

As I picked up bunches of kale and beets, tubs of yogurt, loads of butternut squashes and potatoes and sunchokes, we began to notice flocks of folks in chef coats chattering in Spanish all around us. A culinary school field trip, I figured. One of them looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't place him. ("Watch more of the Food Network," I can practically hear my students suggesting. They know *all* of the celebrity chefs.) When my shopping buddy and I made our way to the information tent, I learned from one of the market volunteers that there was going to be "a surprise" of some sort that morning, and moments later....

Is that percussion I heard just then? Some rhythmic tapping on... could those be pots and pans? Was that a flute? Cellos?? Did I just overhear a french horn at the farmers' market?! Okay, that was definitely a trombone.... Kenton and I followed the music toward where a crowd had gathered, and there was Jose Andres, standing near a marimba made of water-filled glass bottles, smiling broadly while conducting an orchestra of chefs from his various restaurants. What fun: a flash mob chef concert! We stayed for a few songs, and Kenton kindly snapped these pics. Not that I think they should quit their day jobs -- I've tasted some of their (delicious) work at Oyamel, Jaleo, and America Eats -- but those chefs were pretty good for non-professional musicians.

What a delightful surprise on a surprisingly delightful morning. Hoping this is a sign of impending good weather at last, and other fun market surprises to come!