Western Fair Market

It's only an apple fritter, but to me it's a piece of art.  It's also an example of why I've given up chain stores for purchasing almost anything.  It's not a political statement, but a victory for passion over profit.  I love food.  Good food.  It's just so much more fun to buy things that are made by people right in front of you.  Food is important enough for us to care where it came from. Our favourite market is the Western Fair Market (each Saturday) in London.

THE APPLE FRITTER AS A METAPHOR

A chain store, which needs no publicity, claims to make an apple fritter.  They should not be allowed to use the same name as the little pieces of art sculpted by Jacques van Rijn of the Dutch Bakery (296 Wellington Street in St.Thomas).  van Rijn's constant smile and internationally renowned recipe for apple fritters are the first thing you smell as you approach the front door of the Western Fair market.

Jacques van Rijn has a passion for apple fritters 

There is a fresh slice of apple in each fritter surrounded by custard.  Usually, they are warm and you can buy 13 for $13.00.  What the chain store calls an apple fritter is .95 cents.  It's like comparing your mothers homemade soup to something from a red and white can.  The chain store fritter could be a widget.  It's simply part of the quarterly dividend formula.  In fact, that's a better name for them - apple widgets.

Jacques heart goes into his fritters and at each booth at the Western Fair market there is the same kind of story.  If it's fresh meat you are looking for, you can bet it has a different taste than chain store meat.  Cheese - same thing.  Coffee - ditto.  Fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh cut flowers - the same passionate approach.

You get stories, smiles and recipe suggestions.  Oh, did I mention better taste and better for you?

"If it has more than five ingredients, you should be questioning it," said one vendor.  "We need to change from eating to live, to living to eat."  If that is to be true, why not turn food purchasing, preparation and eating into a more enjoyable experience?

We still go to the chains for some things.  There was a great deal on toilet paper today.
 This is not to be overly critical of chain stores. I'm sure they are necessary and provide lots of jobs.

To be fair, many are trying to improve service, but let's just say the chains can learn a lot from the heart that Western Fair market vendors put into their work.  To these merchants fresh food isn't just a way to make a living, it's a way to make a living - while doing something you love.  The moment it becomes just a business and artistry is forgotten - your business structure is in peril.

A good life lesson.  Put your heart into your fritters.