PART TWO — THE THINGS WE LEARNED.
In 2004, convincing the Lexington Farmers Market to allow us to be the first food vendor was a challenge — even more challenging was that we wanted to sell a “foreign” food product, extra virgin olive oil, from Italy.
We learned that Sharon and Lonnie, of Hoot Owl Holler Farm, were two of the most gracious, kind and hilarious farmers at the market. They were also considered "radical" (we called it avant garde.) to invite us to share their booth, even when everyone else was less so. Radical Lonnie introduced arugula to Kentucky when I had only seen it in Italy. I will love that man forever.
We learned to make sure that we requested the company that prints our bottle labels to include adhesive. Because if they “forget” (which they did.) and if you do not have enough funds to have them reprinted (which we did not.) then you will spend many waking hours gluing each label on each bottle by hand, often from your broken-down van, and handing the bottles of olive oil out the window to waiting customers.
We learned that if we heat garlic and onions in our olive oil in a skillet at our booth early in the morning, and use a fan to blow that wonderful scent throughout the market, “they will come” to taste your foreign olive oil. (And many just wanted to buy “whatever was in that skillet”!)
And we learned that if you bring coffee to your fellow vendors — all of whom are farmers — and if you showcase their products in your olive oil tastings, and if you gift them olive oil, they will eventually be waiting each Saturday morning to tell you (and often their customers) their own stories as to how “I used your olive oil last night”.
THIS…is my Kentucky. | 
