Busy Big City Market and New Beef

We just finished our big city market and man was it busy, not to mention hot. We just can't seem to get a break from the heat, though it has been a truly warm summer, like summer should be. I guess. I shouldn't complain, because last summer was cool and VERY rainy, which was a total bummer. So enough of my negativity. At least it's cooling off.

The market started out slowly, like all of them do, and at some point I feel resigned to the fact that we won't be selling many dumplings, and I'm fine with that. We showed up, we did our best. At some point, however, things started to really pick up, and then it was a constant stream of customers lining up for dumplings. It was literally unrelenting, and I was cooking those dumplings as fast as I could to keep up with demand.

I felt at one point of just telling everyone were closed until further notice, i.e., I could stockpile enough dumplings to meet demand. I'm not complaining, it's just stressful when people are lined up and you can't crank the goodies out fast enough. We feel an obligation to our customers. At the Grateful Dumpling, customer comes first.

I also begin the market with the best of intentions in terms of getting stuff on site for our dumplings, but once the market begins, we literally have no free time. I managed to get veggies from Sidetrack and Mt. Pleasant, but it was at the end of the day, and the pickings were slim. Have to get there BEFORE the market begins next time.

I am also investigating a new beef supplier. There are a couple of them at the market, and one is Howvale Farms from Tunbridge and knows WM and GS, our buddies. His prices are higher, but he said he'd give me a break if I bought 10 pounds, which is what we do at Cloudland. I really love Cloudland's beef, it's so tasty, and I really like B&CE, but man is it a chore going out to Pomfret to get the beef. I guess you have to work hard and suffer a little for the best product, and their beef is top notch.

We shall see. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Edwin Pijpe for the pic.