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Bronxville Farmers' Market Welcomes New Director, Pascale Le Draoulec; Season Opens this Saturday, May 7


By Carol P. Bartold


May 4, 2016:  Stone Place and Paxton Avenue will spring to life on Saturday, May 7, when the Bronxville Farmers' Market kicks off its 2016 season. Open every Saturday through November 19 from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm, the market will feature approximately 32 vendors on opening day.

Under the leadership of market director Pascale Le Draoulec, shoppers will not only enjoy returning to favorite vendors, but will also see a few new offerings throughout the season.

Le Draoulec foresees a seamless transition in taking over the duties of the Bronxville Farmers' Market from Mary Liz Mulligan, who grew and managed the market for fifteen years. “I have some big shoes to fill,” said Le Draoulec. “I have known Mary Liz for a long time and we have a similar sensibility and style in the way we approach the market.”

Le Draoulec, who grew up in Los Angeles, brings extensive local market experience to Bronxville. A journalist for eighteen years with a background in food writing, she was the restaurant critic for the New York Daily News. She published a memoir, American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America’s Back Roads, which chronicles her road trip, which she describes as a cross-country “scavenger hunt” to learn about America when she moved from San Francisco to New York.

Currently the manager of markets in Hastings, Irvington, and Chappaqua, Le Draoulec recalled thinking she would run the Hastings market for a summer or two. “I had covered the farm-to-table movement as a food writer,” she said, “so to be on the other side of it sounded fascinating to me.”

A summer or two became an ongoing endeavor after Le Draoulec expanded the Hastings Farmers Market from ten to thirty-five vendors and drew 2,000 shoppers to the weekly market. Other communities soon called and asked her to do the same for their markets. With three markets under her direction, Le Draoulec said, “I had no intention of taking on another, but Mary Liz can be quite persuasive. I hope she comes back as a shopper!”

The daughter of French parents, Le Draoulec recalls growing up in a family where sitting down every night to have dinner as a family was mandatory. “There was no question,” she said. Part of her joy at the farmers' markets, she added, is to see parents and children excited about cooking and eating together. “It’s hard not to get excited when the ingredients are so fresh and beautiful and when you meet the farmers who tell you how they grew them.”

Le Draoulec has a “dinner party” philosophy about how a local farmers' market should function. “You should be able to find everything you need for a spontaneous dinner party at the farmers' market,” she said.

Shoppers will see several new vendors and rotating vendors at the Bronxville Farmers' Market this season. A flower vendor will make its first appearance at the end of May, when flowers are blooming and ready to pick. Vendors of artisanal chocolate, pretzels, and a dark chocolate spread that contains 40 percent organic hazelnut will make appearances at the market. Breezy Hill Orchard, an organic orchard whose farmer is a founding member of the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City, has also been added to the roster of offerings this year.

Le Draoulec looks forward to meeting and getting to know shoppers at the market. She invites everyone to stop by her market tent, where she will have an information table.

“The Bronxville Farmers' Market helps boost our local economy by attracting shoppers from considerable distances and keeping money local,” said Susan Miele, executive director of the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce. “This is another fine example of the Chamber’s partnership with the Village of Bronxville for services that enhance the community.”

Pictured here:  New director of the Bronxville Farmers’ Market, Pascale Le Draoulec.

Photo courtesy Ms. Le Draoulec

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