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Restaurant Scene: Should more Chattanooga restaurants be shopping at farmers markets?

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Eggs from Feathers & Fruit are seen Wednesday at the Main Street Farmers Market. Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Eggs from Feathers & Fruit are seen Wednesday at the Main Street Farmers Market.

By Andre James March 16, 2024 5 min read

In a recent commentary, Joe Milenkovic, chef de cuisine at Easy Bistro, addressed his frustration with Chattanooga’s lack of farmers markets.

In all fairness to Chattanooga, Milenkovic has cooked on a very high level in New York City.

“I’ve always worked in kitchens that used local products to various extents, but I truly feel I learned in New York City at Marco Canora’s farm-to-table restaurant, Hearth,” Milenkovic told me in a text.

We mostly all know that New York City is a whole different animal. On any given day, chefs from Michelin-starred Le Coucou can have their pick of the litter at an array of markets from the Union Square Greenmarket to Park Slope’s Down To Earth Farmer’s Market (I could name at least a dozen more).