Call it: Chef's gone wild.

Top chefs in Los Angeles are livid over changes in business at the famed Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market. Seems they can't get to the produce they need for their own restaurants anymore. Produce companies catering to restaurants and markets elsewhere lock up the deals in advance, according to a piece in the Los Angeles Times this weekend.

"Look at all of these trucks," fumed one chef quoted in the piece. "This isn't a farmer's market anymore. It's some kind of boutique wholesale operation.

Don't worry. There's still organic ramps and fennel (and everything else you can think of) for you and me, but to leading chefs used to having their first pick at the very best, and buying that best in bulk, it's an annoying trend indeed. Time was when the SaMo Farmer's Market was *the* place for local foodies and chefs to informally co-mingle, swapping the latest gossip while perusing the groaning stalls for A-list produce not found anywhere else. Now, however, the clubby atmosphere has given way to big business.

This is a godsend for the farmers, of course. With produce companies snapping up their goods in bulk to ship off to upscale markets and eateries out of state (think Las Vegas. Think Vancouver), they can actually earn decent livings for once. But at the expense of the local restaurant?

Not everyone thinks so. The local chefs can pick up the phone like the produce companies, say some farmers. "Someone calls in an order, and that's a sale that's already made and paid for as far as I'm concerned," famer Phil McGrath explained to the Times. "When I bring something to the market and put it out on the table, that's a gamble. I don't know whether I'll sell those or not."

Good point. And really, the fact that high-end restaurants around the country want their produce from California's local organic farmers only bodes well. If they're prospering, farmers will be able to bring more and better produce to the stall.

Yeah, it's always a shame when some marvelous local gem goes big-time (just ask any surfer). There are aways going to be pissy natives. But you really don't want to fight success, do you? In the end, local taste-makers will just have to get out of bed earlier on Wednesdays.