The Toyota Farm to Table Tour announced the line-up of Chattanooga area chefs who will be treating visitors at The Chattanooga Market at the First Tennessee Pavilion on Aug. 8 with bite-sized complimentary treats featuring local farm-fresh ingredients as part of this year’s national summer tour.

The Toyota Farm to Table Tour travels to farmers markets across the country to showcase the connection between farmers, chefs, farmers markets and the communities they serve, and to give market shoppers the opportunity to experience Toyota’s hybrid vehicles.

At each stop on the tour, up to 12 of the area’s top chefs and farmers will be paired together to highlight the best of each market’s fresh offerings. The chefs will prepare bite-sized tastings for visitors to sample that highlight their partner farm’s ingredients while guests will have the opportunity to learn more about each market, the specialty farmers, the notable chefs, and ways to eat and shop more locally.

The Toyota Farm to Table Tour will be at The Chattanooga Market on Aug. 8 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. at the First Tennessee Pavilion.

“With the amount of local produce available at the Chattanooga Market, Toyota’s Farm to Table Tour is a perfect way to showcase the best of Chattanooga’s food culture,” said Chris Thomas, director of the Chattanooga Market. “We’re truly excited to bring together the community with some of the best chefs in the city and our beloved farmers to celebrate Chattanooga’s local food and embrace eating sustainability.”

The Chattanooga Market will feature 12 chefs, including:
Ryan Cutchins of 212 Market Restaurant
John Palacio of the Sheraton Read House Hotel
Jericho Michel of The Terminal Brewhouse
Matt Pinner of Chattanoogan Hotel
Michael Vasta of Back Inn Cafe
Nathan Lindley of Public House
Anna Scott - Caterer
Peter Barlow - Caterer
Erik Niel of Easy Bistro & Bar
Aaron Long of Market Street Tavern

Guests will have the opportunity to select complimentary potted culinary herbs from the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden as well as enter for a chance to win a culinary trip to Santa Barbara for a special cooking and farmers market tour. At the Highlander Hybrid Mobile Garden, a Mobile Garden Herb Specialist will be on-hand to pot the plants for visitors and answer general questions about gardening. All herb plants are sourced from local vendors at the market.

Market visitors will also have the chance to take a ride in a 2010 Prius, Highlander Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid set to launch in 2012 and take home a John Boos cutting board as a memento of the experience. In support of all the benefits the markets offer their communities, Toyota will also make a financial donation to the market. Throughout the tour Toyota has committed to using eco-friendly materials and will be purchasing carbon credits through TerraPass to offset the impact of the tour’s carbon footprint, officials said.

“The Toyota Farm to Table Tour was created to celebrate farmers markets and the benefits they offer their communities while also showcasing Toyota’s extensive line of hybrid, fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles that give consumers options to choose a vehicle that complements their lifestyles,” said Keith Dahl, Toyota National Manager of Engagement Marketing. “Now in its second year, the tour provides Toyota the opportunity to connect with people who have made lifestyle choices such as driving hybrid vehicles, eating locally-grown food and shopping at farmers markets, while also providing the opportunity to directly give back to the communities where our customers live.”

New to the tour this year, in a further effort to support famers markets across the entire country, Toyota is also providing financial support to the Farmers Market Coalition, a national non-profit dedicated to strengthening farmers markets that serve as community assets while providing real income opportunities for farmers.

The 2010 Toyota Farm to Table Tour runs from July 10 to August 28 and is visiting the following farmers markets:
The City Market – Kansas City – Saturday, July 10
The Little Rock Farmers’ Market – Little Rock – Saturday, July 17
The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market – Raleigh – Wednesday, July 21
The Pepper Place Saturday Market – Birmingham– Saturday, July 24
FRESHFARM Market, by the White House – Washington, D.C. – Thursday, July 29
Market Square Farmers Market – Pittsburgh – Thursday, August 5
The Chattanooga Market – Chattanooga – Sunday, August 8
Rochester Downtown Farmers Market – Rochester, Minn. – Saturday, August 14
The Farmers Market Annex – Minneapolis, Minn. – Sunday, August 15
The Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market – Salt Lake City– Saturday, August 21
The Red Stick Farmers Market – Baton Rouge – Saturday, August 28