We are excited to have Marc Nassar as our featured Chef @ the Market this Saturday, September 10 at 11:00 a.m. He’ll be preparing some delectable, free-form zucchini pancakes, using fresh local ingredients.
Always sensitive to food and flavours, Marc says he was never avid about cooking, it was more a required activity of living. However, one day a space opened up in the Reed Opera House and, freshly unemployed after his business partner in a greeting card endeavor wanted to close that business, Marc decided to open a lunch place and call it the Soup Cellar. In a limited space and with little equipment, Marc set off to learn how to cook from scratch, and in two long years the Soup Cellar was known for its fresh soups, wraps, hummus, salad and juice bars, and interesting fresh vegetarian entrees. And, as they say, the rest was history: For two years running the Soup Cellar was voted Salem’s best Vegetarian Restaurant, and one year this tiny, M-F lunch only, 24-seat hidden in the basement joint, was named the second best restaurant in Salem.
Marc has since sold the restaurant and is working as a personal chef out of his basement kitchen, taking special orders and catering private parties throughout Salem. His specialties include a variety of special items, many of them directly from his Lebanese heritage: baklava, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, stuffed squashes, roasted lamb, but also makes his own pasta from scratch, as well as quiches, breads, cakes cookies and muffins. He has many vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free dishes he has created over the years. He whips up a mean peanut Thai curry, or a scratch lasagna with equal fervor and interest. He has over 50 soup recipes, many are seasonal using the freshest of local ingredients of the season. He maintains a food email list and invites people to share in his creations weekly.
Other interests include music and politics (he is a member of Dr. Atomic’s Medicine Show, a political satire group in Salem), and host of Salem House Concerts, bringing national touring musicians to his home for an intimate dinner/concert series. Soon, Marc will host his own radio show on KMUZ 88.5 Salem with a variety of music and musical guests playing live in the studio whenever he can. His first show was with Melissa Greener of Nashville and soon that recording will be available as a podcast on the KMUZ.org website. Also an avid gardener, he has an extensive herb garden with a dose of veggies and flowers that sets the mood for his annual “backyard bash” garden concert and gourmet buffet dinner, usually in support of a local cause.
Hope you can join us for what is sure to be a deliciously entertaining demo!
