South Park Farmers’ Market 3rd Anniversary Celebration Featuring… Marinko’s Desserts

Enjoying a pleasant morning on Saturday, August 22, I attended the Third Anniversary South Park/Social District Farmer’s Market. The weekly farmer’s market is now in its third year on Grand Ave. and has become a firmly entrenched feature of our neighborhood. The event was celebrated in grand fashion with face painting, a bouncy house and slide, and free popsicles from Brandons’s Ice Cream.   Our Farmer’s Market has been voted Best Farmers’ Market in DTLA for the second year in a row! It was obvious everyone in attendance–especially the kids--were having a great time

       This is where I met Marinko at his Marinko’s Desserts booth.  He was such an outgoing and friendly person I had to stop for a minute to ask him to tell me about his product: beautiful little layer cakes in a variety of flavors  called “raw desserts”.  All are uncooked and made from nutrient-rich, plant-based whole foods, like soaked cashews, raw cacao, dates, and nuts.  The cakes are never baked and do not contain animal products, refined sugar, gluten, or dairy. They are all organic, all plant based, and naturally vegan.

       Marinko immigrated to Canada from Bosnia just before the onset of the Bosnian War.  His mother and other family members soon joined him when their home was destroyed in the conflict. He started his dessert business in the San Francisco Bay Area five years ago and is now expanding locally with a production facility in Los Angeles.  His cakes are starting to pop up all over Southern California at farmer’s markets,  restaurants, and coffee shops.

       Marinko believes that one should never feel guilty about enjoying a dessert.  His cakes are made strictly of natural plant-based ingredients and are sweetened only by a generous use of dates in the mix–no sugars or artificial preservatives or enhancers are ever found in his products. I sampled several of the 12 to 14 flavors he was offering at the market and can personally attest to the quality of his cakes–absolutely scrumptious!

       If you are looking for a truly unique and enticing dessert to serve your family or guests, look them up on Instagram at marinkosdesserts or at marinkos.com, where you will find information on each of the flavors and how to obtain them. 

       As I left, Marinko promised me he would be a permanent participant in our farmer’s market going forward.  Yum!

By: John Nilsson