Funky, fresh food will be whipped up off the cuff by two celebrity chefs in front of visitors at tomorrow's Tauranga Farmers Markets in a summer producers' national awards event.

With the city's market hosting the 2014 Farmers Market New Zealand Summer Producers Awards from 9am, market-goers will see the nation's top farmer's market produce and products cooked up by celebrity chef Julie Biuso and Tauranga's Peter Blakeway.

Celebrity chef Peter Blakeway will whip up 'fresh, funky food” from Summer Producers Awards entries at tomorrow's Tauranga Farmers Market.

Tauranga Farmers Market manager Trixie Allen says she's been encouraging local producers to get involved in tomorrow's awards, which the city markets is hosting as a member of Farmers' Markets NZ.

'We're hosting this segment of FMNZ's annual awards – these are held every year – and it's to recognise the producers throughout New Zealand, who attend farmer's markets.”

Celebrity chef Julie Biuso and Tauranga's Peter Blakeway will join Tauranga Boys' College hospitality students and FMNZ chairman Chris Fortune to judge the fresh produce entries from 9am-10am.

Trixie says this will mostly happen behind closed doors, at the farmers market at Tauranga Primary on Arundel St, but the chefs will relocate to the school veranda from 11am to start creating 'fresh, funky food” with the produce entered.

'So this surely off the cuff because they [the chefs] too won't know until tomorrow morning what they've got to work with.”

'So it's challenging for them to use their skills, using fresh product, and showing the public what you can do with a bundle of this, or a bundle of that, to be made into dishes.”

The awards categories are tastiest pip fruit, juiciest stone fruit, dirt on the roots, dirt off the roots, organically produced, ugly is tasty – and Trixie says the judges mainly look for taste.

'Because product that comes into a farmers market isn't always the smoothest and the most beautiful-looking, like we're used to seeing in conventional retail outlets, its all about taste and freshness,” says Trixie.

'And because you're purchasing directly from the producer at the market – and that's what it's about – if you've got a fresh product, you know it's going to last more than a few days until you want to use it.”

Trixie says she knows of a few local producers entering tomorrow's awards, but she'll find out who they at 11am – like everyone else.

'It's all a bit of bit surprise.”

But producers will have to wait until July to find out if they've won, at FMNZ's annual awards and conference in Feilding.

Winners will receive free coverage in Tangible Media's ‘Taste' and ‘Good' magazines.