Daniel Ceballos has the greens, and his Gourmet Specialties stand at the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market has a dedicated following among local home chefs.
Ceballos and his sister, Lilia Galacia, run a business that primarily grows herbs and salad greens for restaurants and professional chefs around the country. They operate out of a large greenhouse in Vernon, California, where the bulk of their produce is grown.
“It’s cleaner, and all organic,” said Ceballos.
Gourmet Specialties has a broad array of offerings. Their salad greens, including arugula, spinach, and a “spicy mix” that includes edible flowers, are among the most popular, but their unique collection of herbs are also a big draw. They carry not only the usual herbs — cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, mint — but specialty varieties, such as lemon thyme and Thai basil, as well as both English and French lavender. Ceballos also brings a rotating selection of pre-cut, bagged vegetables — zucchini cut into pasta strands, green beans, carrots, and mixed beets.
Local resident Katie Williams has been a regular since Gourmet Specialties began coming to the Tuesday market. Her reason, she said, is pretty straightforward — no grocery market can measure up to the quality of the stand’s produce.
“The flavor in their greens — in everything, really — is just amazing,” she said. “You can actually taste it.”
Ceballos, an affable man, is also part of the draw — he clearly loves his produce, and he has helpful suggestions for how to put it to use in the kitchen. He makes tea out of the lavender, for example, adding a bit of honey. On his cell phone, he has videos of many of his favorite recipes — nothing too complicated, just simple preparations that allow the vegetable’s elemental flavors to reign. One shows him gently sauteing the fresh-cut zucchini pasta with roasted poblanos and carrots.
“It’s good,” he said. “People like it.”
