Chef Chris’ Market Menu
BY VAL SCHOGER PHOTOS BY VAL SCHOGER & ERIC MARCUS
On any given Saturday morning, Chef Chris Infinger sets out to buy market-fresh ingredients for g.Foley’s dinner menu. He hand-selects locally grown, locally made and freshly caught items and, with a changing seasonal harvest, guests can be certain to be served tasty surprises. The Market Menu is available on Saturday evenings in addition to the regular menu items.
His first stop is the Waterfront Market in Historic St. Andrews where vendors greet him with appreciation. “It is exciting to contribute to the menu at g.Foleys on Saturdays,“ says baker Joanne Trout with “Breads By Joanne.” Her selection of freshly-baked breads and crackers are extremely popular with market shoppers. Chef Chris buys several loafs and varieties that he will serve up with hand-crafted Blackberry Lavender Jam and Pineapple Pepper Jelly that he picked up a few stands away. The breads will be accompanied by sea salt butter that Chef Chris is making fresh that day with salt derived straight from the Gulf of Mexico by Gulf Coast Saltworks in Panama City.
Many of the vendors can be found at the Historic St.Andrews waterfront market each week: Weslowski Farms from Vernon, City Greens and Willie Maybon from Cottondale, Sweet Grass Dairy from Thomasville, Georgia, Ocheesee Creamery from Grand Ridge, and Chillin Gelato from Panama City Beach are all frequent contributors to g.Foley’s Market Menu on Saturday evenings.
All vendors are mentioned on the Market Menu with a special thanks.Not only do they boost local flavor but also local pride. “It is an added value to the menu when you know where your ingredients are coming from,” says Chef Chris.
Greg Abrams, owner of Tarpon Dock Seafood Market, supplies g.Foley’s with seafood for the regular menu. On Saturdays, Chef Chris visits Tarpon Dock’s fish market next to the Massalina bridge in downtown Panama City to hand-select the fresh catch of the day for dinner.
Black Grouper and Cedar Key clams are selected on this particular day. Tarpon Dock also carries the grits that contribute to g.Foley’s famous Shrimp and Grits, a best seller on their regular menu.
The farm-to-table concept gets a special twist at g.Foley’s and local vendors have a big part as Chef Chris brings all the ingredients together.
“I have learned a lot about local growers and suppliers. It is great to know them by name and keep up with what they are growing. Knowing that some of the items have been harvested just a few hours before – it can’t get any fresher than that. Buying at the local markets has been a great inspiration for my menu creations,” says Chef Chris.
Chef Chris’s Market Menu on a Saturday in May is shown here.It certainly made a feast with innovative taste combinations that might just return in season next year.
Saturday’s Market Menu at g.Foley’s sells out quickly. Guests are advised to call and make reservations.
g.Foley’s is located at 3214 W. 23rd Street in Panama City, FL; call (850) 481-0354 for reservations or visit their website for more information: www.gfoleys.com
[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2013/08/Val.jpg” ]Val studied communications and marketing in Germany and holds a marketing degree. She had a corporate career and has worked for nine years in media, PR and marketing internationally in Germany, England, the Caribbean and the United States. During an extended sailboat cruise n 2003, she traveled to the Gulf Coast and subsequently to Navarre, Florida and was immediately smitten with Northwest Florida. She started her first business in 2004 in Fort Walton Beach and as of July 2013, she became the sole owner and publisher of Panama City Living Magazine. She obtained her Merchant Mariner Credential (Captain’s License) right here in Panama City at SeaSchool and enjoys being on the water when she finds the time. [/author]