An aromatic event: Herb fans converge at annual fair

Clockwise from top, chef Christopher Hawver, a creation by Meghan Herchfield of Green Paper Flower, offerings from Cabbage Hill Farm, carnivorous plants from Well-Sweep Herb Farm, and Anne Kupferberg of Cabbage Hill Farm. Amy Sowder photos

By AMY SOWDER

The sweet scent of fresh basil wafted over the crowd, and the raucous whirrrrr of the Ninja Nutri-Blender soared through the tent where chef Christopher Hawver concocted a basil syrup for roasted peaches.

“Herbs are part of my philosophy. I call it the ‘flavor chase,’” Hawver said as he later stuffed some fresh sage into another food processor during the “Cooking with Herbs” presentation at the 74th annual Herb Fair & Market on Sept. 20. “Herbs give a lot of bang for their buck. I don’t have a green thumb, but I have an herb garden.”

Throughout the day, the festival drew more than 3,000 people — more than last year, estimated Nicoletta Salvi,  co-chairperson of the New York Unit of the Herb Society of America, the organization formed in 1938 that presented the festival. Caramoor in Katonah hosted the event across the grounds, indoors and out, for the second year in a row. For about 30 years until the restoration prevented it, the Herb Fair was at the John Jay Homestead, where the unit’s big herb garden sits open to public tours.

This free event featured a marketplace with about 40 artisans, makers and growers from the greater Hudson Valley region, as well as presentations, workshops, and the Herb Society’s signature lovage soup. 

“We totally sold out at our bakery and flower tables, and people are definitely very happy. Because we’re a nonprofit, we’re trying to build a community,” Salvi said. “Our mission is to teach people about herbs, their uses and their delights. Now herbs are talked about a lot, but that didn’t used to be the case.”

Hours before the event ended, several other artisans and makers had sold out of their products, including Bedford Bee, LMNOP Bakery, Lindsay’s Handmade, and Pesto Palette.“This is the first of any fair we’ve done. People were very responsive and nice,” said Sally Face of Sleepy Hollow, who makes the pestos, which are all vegan except one. “I’m thrilled we sold out, and I’m inspired to make more. Herbs are so good for you.”

As for that soup: Not easily found in most supermarkets, lovage is an underrated dark-green herb with a strong celery-like flavor, good for soups, sauces, poultry, pork and seafood. In the event’s signature soup, the herb enhanced the potatoes, leeks and broth, plus the focaccia baked by LMNOP bakery in Katonah. Soup seekers lined up to get a ladle-full for more than half of the festival, and the booth sold out before the day was done.

Some of the fair’s front-row tables offered fresh and dried herbs, handmade wreaths, sachets and herbal bouquets, along with herb-infused sweets and savory baked goods, including herb and rose cookies, anise cornbread and tea leaves. Leaders and volunteers from the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden in North Salem helmed an origami crafts table for a fun children’s activity.

“I just love plants, and being around them makes me happy,” said Erin Chavez, a North Salem mom who has attended the fair for a few years with her son.

Authors and contributing authors Ngoc Minh Ngo, a photographer, Julia Whitney Barnes, a multidisciplinary artist, and Deirdre Larkin, horticulturist and historian, signed their books, “Roses in the Garden,” “Planting Utopia,” and “Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden,” respectively. Nonprofit partners for the 2025 fair included the New York Botanical Garden and Bedford 2030, both dedicated to advancing environmental stewardship and education.

Friends Kathy Tobin and Kathy Herron drove to the fair from Staten Island. They enjoyed the “Fantastic Fall Herbs and Perennials” talk by Patrick McDuffee of Well-Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey. Soon after, they watched Hawver’s presentation among the seated and standing crowd of more than 100 people under the tent. Hawver showed onlookers how to prepare and preserve fresh herbs for the winter with compound butters, herb syrups, coulis, oils, salts, and freezable breading varieties using chips and pretzels.

“I like getting different ideas for the herbs, and I learned that a pinch of baking soda can brighten things up,” Tobin said as the crowd dispersed from the tent.

Nearby, Miriam Blake, 8, sat on her knees in the grass, wrapped rubber bands over the twisted white shirt in her hands and dunked it into a bucket of indigo-hued liquid. Remnants of the “Indigo Dye Bath: Bring Your Own” presentation with Maggie Pate, more than a dozen pieces of clothing dangled from strings, fluttering in the slight breeze as they dried in the sunshine.

“I think it’s fun,” Blake said while squeezing the liquid out of her now-blue shirt.

Meghan Hershfield sat behind her The Green Paper Flower booth at the artisan market, answering questions and selling her artwork she created from tissue paper and other materials, using the flowers and herbs in her home garden.

“Everyone’s very intelligent about flowers. People are not here just to shop. They really appreciate and know different types of botanicals, herbs and flowers,” Hershfield said. “It’s nice that people recognize the authenticity of my work.”

For more information, visit herbsocietyny.org.

Amy Sowder has worked for Bon Appétit, Women’s Health, Food Network, Farm Journal, Westchester Magazine, Chowhound, VeryWell, LoHud and USA Today. She edits Cook’s Illustrated magazine, writes for Everyday Health, and is collaborating on a historical novel.