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Three decades on, St. Albert Farmers' Market garlic guru looks to the future

Bill Garriock got his start at the former Grandin Mall
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Bill Garriock at his booth, Garlic's Purity Plus Inc., at the Farmers Market in downtown St. Albert on Saturday, July 20, 2019. DAN RIEDLHUBER/St. Albert Gazette

This is a series of profiles on people who sell at the St. Albert Farmers' Market.

For close to 30 years, Bill Garriock has been running Garlic’s Purity Plus – a booth that could be considered every garlic lover’s dream – at the St. Albert Farmers Market.

From dressings, dips and spreads to vinaigrettes, Garriock creates products for every garlic lover to enjoy. He says it’s important to keep the food natural and fresh, compared to some of the bigger brand items sold in grocery stores.

“They try to make one jar into three, or four, or five jars by adding water, which takes away the flavour,” says Garriock. “Then they try to bring back the flavour with chemicals, preservatives and enhancers.”

Garriock is so proud of his flavours that he asks people to sample them when they stop by his booth.

“They’re always saying, ‘oh is this ever fresh,’ ” he said.

Creating products to sell at market didn't cross Garriock's mind until his family started encouraging him to do so.

“Every occasion we went to, I always got forced to make the caesar dressing for everybody to have,” says Bill. “One year, my ex’s sister said, ‘Why don’t you sell it?’ I said, ‘Nobody will buy my dressing.’ ”

Thirty years of selling proved his initial reaction wrong. Garriock began selling at the now-demolished Grandin Mall during the wintertime, at a time when there were only a few other tenants in the building. Some of those vendors gave him advice to wait until the farmers market for things to pick up.

“I started doing the market in the summer and I was blown away by the sales,” says Bill. “It was unbelievable.”

Now, Garriock's dips and dressings are on the shelves at local grocery stores as well as at the farmers market.

Although he loves what he does, Garriock points out he is getting older and requires a bit more help running his booth nowadays. He is looking to pass the garlic guru hat on to someone else to keep his products alive.

“I’d love for it to be carried on by good people,” he said.

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