The global spread of COVID-19 has completely changed our daily lives.
Wearing a mask at all times is uncomfortable, and not being able to go outside freely leaves us feeling down.
It is impossible to keep living with a tense mind, and we need a brief respite.
“Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche” is a small market event where you can stop by for a little while and enjoy a modest moment of exchange.
On Saturday, June 5, 2021, “Patisserie Le Vert,” a Western-style confectionery shop in Hiroe, Kurashiki City, held “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets.”
I stopped by the small market event and enjoyed some delicious sweets.
I also spoke with Nishiyama Maki of the organizer, Atelier sora design, about the event.
Here is a look at the event and the story behind “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche.”
The information presented here is current as of the article’s publication in June 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets”
Overview of “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets”
“Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets” was held on Saturday, June 5, 2021.
It took place at “Patisserie Le Vert,” a Western-style confectionery shop in Hiroe, Kurashiki City.
Previously held in Okayama City and Kurashiki City, “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche” is now held regularly at Patisserie Le Vert once every two months.
Since May 2022, Patisserie Le Vert has held “Midori no Ichi” once a month.
This was the sixth time the event had been held at Patisserie Le Vert.
With people continuing to stay home, the organizers have kept holding small market events in the hope of giving people a chance to relax.
To bring enjoyment to local residents
The June 5, 2021 event was held on a smaller scale.
Four shops took part: a confectionery shop, a coffee shop, a curry shop, and a woodworking goods shop.
Although small in scale, the lineup offered plenty to enjoy as a market event.
When people hear “market event,” they may imagine a lively place with food stalls lining the streets and crowds of people. By keeping “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche” small, however, the organizers offer a place where people can stop by for just a little while.
Products were sold for takeout only.
Eating and drinking were not allowed at the venue, and no chairs were provided in order to shorten visitors’ stays.
In addition to requiring visitors to sanitize their hands before entering, the event limited entry to two groups at a time.
Participating shops at “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets”
The following four shops took part in “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets.”
| Shop | Products |
|---|---|
| Sorairo Cafe | Coffee and tea |
| Patisserie Le Vert | Western-style confectionery |
| Naish Curry | Hamburger curry |
| ATELIER Le cache-cache | Wooden goods and succulents |
A look at “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets”
I visited “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche: Tea, Goods, and Sweets” and enjoyed some Western-style sweets and curry.
Here are some of the products offered by each shop.
Patisserie Le Vert
Patisserie Le Vert sells a wide variety of Western-style sweets, including cakes, tarts, and cream puffs.
I ordered a creme brulee and a cream puff.
For the creme brulee, they sprinkle sugar over the custard cream and torch it right there after you order.
After a while, the caramelized sugar cools and hardens, and tapping it with a spoon makes a pleasant, crisp sound.
Hit it harder with the spoon and the sheet of sugar cracks, revealing the custard cream underneath.
The texture of soft custard cream mingling with the hard sheet of sugar is one of the pleasures of creme brulee.
The cream puff was also finished to order by piping custard cream into the pastry.
Watching the custard cream being piped in made my heart flutter.
After taking a bite of the cream puff packed to the brim with custard cream, I felt happy and satisfied, both in heart and stomach.
Sorairo Cafe
Sorairo Cafe is run by event organizer Nishiyama Maki and sells coffee, tea, and juice.
I ordered coffee to go with my creme brulee and cream puff.
The coffee had a pleasant bitterness and a mellow aftertaste.
It was a perfect match for the brulee and cream puff, both made with sweet custard cream.
Naish Curry
Naish Curry, whose main shop is in Kurashiki City, also took part.
They were selling hamburger curry.
The curry had a mild flavor—not too spicy or too sweet—and was topped with a hamburger steak so tender you could cut it with a spoon.
I recommend eating the hamburger steak, coated generously in curry sauce, together with the rice.
ATELIER Le cache-cache
ATELIER Le cache-cache sells handmade wooden goods and succulents.
ATELIER Le cache-cache, which has a physical shop in Niimi City, makes charming miniature models for children to play with.
Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the models included intricately made pots and pans, a refrigerator, and a washing machine.
What “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche” hopes to offer
I asked Nishiyama Maki of Atelier sora design, the organizer of “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche,” to tell me more about the event.
Here is the story behind starting the market event and the thoughts behind it.
What inspired you to start “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Marche”?
Nishiyama (surname only)
We held our first market event in March 2020, when COVID-19 began spreading around the world.
As I continued living under restrictions that kept me from going out, I realized that just going to the supermarket helped me feel at ease.
So I planned a small market event called “Porchside Market,” where people could stop by for just a little while, in the parking lot of the cafe I run.
When I invited people to take part through social networking services, the response was tremendous.
Later, someone who had visited the market event introduced me to an empty commercial space in Tsushima, Kita Ward, Okayama City, and suggested holding it there. In May 2020, it launched as “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market.”
It has become a small market event that draws visitors from the surrounding neighborhood, and has been well received.
How did regular events at Patisserie Le Vert come about?
Nishiyama
We had held “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market” irregularly at several locations, mainly around Okayama City.
Although we had people who became fans, I thought it was difficult to attend an event with an irregular schedule and location.
By holding it regularly, I wanted to create a place that would be easy for our fans to visit.
Le Vert was one of the vendors at the first market event, “Porchside Market,” in March 2020.
It was a confectionery shop that operated only as a mobile vendor, and its physical store in Hiroe, Kurashiki City, had apparently closed.
So I suggested to the owner of Le Vert that we make use of the unused shop.
At first, he seemed reluctant, but when we actually held the event, it was a huge success.
Fans of Le Vert from the days when it sold from a physical store came along as if they had been waiting for it.
Since holding “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market” at Le Vert’s shop in October 2020, this has been the sixth event, supported by its fans.
Why do you continue holding market events?
Nishiyama
Even amid the spread of COVID-19, restaurants have been responding flexibly, for example by shortening their business hours.
Many market events have treated it as a choice between holding an event and canceling it, and I wondered whether it might be possible to respond flexibly to the circumstances.
Canceling an event is easy.
Couldn’t we reduce the scale of an event, sell takeout items only, or change the services we offer flexibly to suit the situation?
With the desire to offer local residents a little time to relax, we have continued “Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market,” adapting it to the circumstances.
What kind of market event would you like to create?
Nishiyama
I don’t want to keep the idea of a small market event to myself. I hope more people will learn about it and put it into practice.
The name “Tekuteku TAKEOUT Market” reflects the idea of a market event within walking distance—even for children.
I would be happy to see small events that offer a chance to unwind held in places close to home and spread to many communities.
From the Writer
Many people feel stifled by the restrictions on going out.
Preventing the spread of infection must be a priority, but it would be difficult to live without any interaction with others.
Rather than seeing cancellation as the only way to prevent infections from spreading, I think it is also reasonable to decide to continue events while making adjustments.
By enjoying the takeout pastries, I too was able to clear my head for the first time in a while.
Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market: Tea, Goods, and Sweets — Information
| Name | Tekuteku TAKE OUT Market: Tea, Goods, and Sweets |
|---|---|
| Event dates | Held irregularly At “Le Vert,” held once a month as “Midori no Ichi” since May 2022 |
| Location | Mobile market |
| Website | Atelier sora design (Instagram) |
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