Marin resident finds sweet success with bakery business
The farmers market rewards even an elementary home cook with a take-home bounty that asks for nothing more than a shake of a good seasoning salt and a pinch of herbs. But for a skilled chef like Novato resident Alex Tishman of Fire Swamp Provisions, it serves as the home base for his bakery business and informs his weekly menu and offers its building blocks.
Two months ago, a larger swath of Marin County got a glimpse of what Novato seasonal farmers market-goers have been dishing about since 2021 when Tishman made his first appearance. Fire Swamp Provisions is now open at the year-long farmers market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays in San Rafael. (The Downtown Novato Community Farmers Market reopens from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays beginning May 7.)
Tishman's philosophy is to keep it simple and seasonal, care where the ingredients come from and make the best possible version.
English muffins?
“We've made tens of thousands of them with different amounts of butter, flour
blends and cooking processes to make them perfect,” he offers as an example.
The menu is posted each week on Instagram and Facebook, where pre-orders can be placed by direct message.
Like many pandemic chefs
seeking an outlet, Tishman started with a simple sourdough that has since expanded to include pan loaves (classic, seeded and olive herb), cornmeal rye, BBOP (brown butter oat porridge), challah and a variety of focaccias. Sourdough bagels are available along with schmears (whipped cream cheese, market vegetable and preserved Meyer lemon and dill).
A set of sweet and savory laminated pastries include vanilla bean kouign-amann (or with coffee chocolate pastry cream and vanilla Chantilly), pain au chocolat, morning buns, chai monkey bread and twice-baked almond bostock with dark rum syrup, frangipane and brown sugar syrup.
Or go for nostalgia with sweets like apple hand pies, brown butter rice crispy treats and toasted vanilla bean meringues.
For Tishman, the farmers market not only activates his creativity but is a communitydriven network where he can foster a symbiotic relationship with like-minded producers, growers, artisans and other local food businesses.
On Thursdays, he sets up his booth and then shops for ingredients for the following week, choosing organic strawberries from Rodriguez Farms that are later roasted with aged balsamic and nestled atop whipped mascarpone mousse in a vanilla bean Danish; asparagus