By Ciska Weber, Owner of Earth Day Fair Exhibitor Cafe Gelato
It's been about 21 years since I called Winston Salem my home.
From day one I felt that the triad was a nice place to live, except...the food. Coming from New York City, I was now faced with grits, BBQ and fried chicken (not that there is anything wrong with that). On Sunday night, there was not a restaurant in town that was open.
Now 21 years later we can be proud of our city, with so many options of different foods.
For me, the highlight of food in the Triad is the many farmers markets that sell an abundance of homegrown fruits and vegetables. Add meat from local farms, and you have yourself a meal that can't be beat by any restaurant in town.
It's amazing - once you start eating these local foods, the regular supermarket food seem so much less tasty.
Knowing the farmer from the market and seeing how hard they work and how much passion they have for their products, it somehow makes it even tastier. I can't tell you how much I respect these people, it's a hard job with lots of uncertainties but you can tell this is what they love to do.
It's great to see how many local restaurants are using products from farms nearby.
You can't beat the taste of food that was grown just a few miles down the road, delivered with a smile.
Ciska Weber was born on an island named “Terschelling” in the Netherlands. She attended fashion school in Amsterdam and worked in the fashion industry in New York City. She moved to North Carolina and owned a restaurant in Clemmons for 9 years and now makes gelato at Cafe Gelato on Reynolda road in Winston Salem.