If you showed up at the Coos Bay Farmer’s Market the first couple weeks and saw a sign that said ‘beets’ or ‘radishes,’ but there was nothing behind it, you probably got there after chef Alex Bourgidu.

This is his time of year.

He can’t wait for the markets to open and start getting fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.

The owner of Porta in North Bend, Chef Bourgidu, heads for the market with his wife Kaisa soon after it opens and scours the booths for items he can use in his dishes at the restaurant.

So what did he find?

“This week we got some pea shoots,” Bourgidu said from his kitchen at Porta. “We got beets and turnips and spring onions. We got basil, sage, chives and mint and dill.

“We also got strawberries and snow peas and English peas.”

By the time he’s done at the market, the chef and Kaisa have their arms full of produce and flowers for the tables. They’ve visited with Joe Lossing from Coquille and the guys from Peerless Produce in Dillard and this year they’ve found Sterken Farm from Roseburg and Botanical Garden Supply of Salem.

Everything will be on this week’s menu.

“It’s exciting for us to do this,” Alex said. “Our intent is to show that if you start with great produce and products that you’ll get a great meal.”

And the Wednesday market couldn’t be timed more perfectly for Bourgidu  since Porta is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

“It couldn’t be any better,” Alex said. “We go to the market, come back and get started. Coos Bay has a great market.

“This is the perfect way for us to do it. And we save money.”

The chef has set up a network, where nearly all of items he uses in his restaurant come from local or regional producers.

“Amazingly enough, it’s been easier than I thought,” he said. “If you take a little time to find out what’s happening, if you have an interest in finding this type of thing, you can.”

One of those finds is Abby’s Greens in Langlois.

Zoe Bradbury, Abby’s sister, showed up at Porta just after lunchtime with a delivery of many of the greens and other veggies that will be served this week.

“We buy tons from Abby” the chef said. “And we supplement that with the (farmer’s) market.

“The best thing people can do now is grown your own food,” he said. “The more we support them, the more they can do for us.”

The chef took out a huge bag of Romaine leaves.

“Look at this lettuce,” he said. “Not only is it going to taste better, but it lasts longer because it just got cut.”

Among the many other local suppliers he’s come to rely on include Gail Johnson at Templeton Valley Farms for the eggs he uses in his hand-made pasta and Umpqua Aquaculture of Winchester Bay which produces the oysters and Margie Ryan makes the breads.

“If people only knew how many people do this,” he said. “It’s so cool.”