Valentine's Country Bakery and Meats Brings an Assortment of Treats

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop, stop by on Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and visit vendor Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats (Valentine’s) at the Annandale Farmers Market.

Owned by Valentine and Darletta Miller, Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats is a family-run operation. “This farm has been in my family for generations. The land I own now used to be worked on by my great grandfather,” Valentine Miller said. His sons Douglas and Donovan help him on his farm which is located between Madison and Orange, Virginia.

For the last ten years, Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats has been at the Annandale Market, with the Millers getting up at 3 a.m. to get there on time. “Our customers and vendors at other markets encouraged us to apply to this market, so we did,” Valentine Miller said. Although they have been in Annandale for just a decade, the Millers are not at all new to farmers markets. “My father used to help his mother at farmers markets about 60 years ago. She brought things like raspberries and baked goods,” Valentine Miller said.

Valentine’s Country Meats has a very large, impressive booth which houses about 70 different cuts and varieties of beef, lamb, rabbit, and chicken, as well as eggs. The Bakery portion also offers many options to customers. Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats has items that will please everyone.

All of the meats at Valentine’s are all natural, with no antibiotics, growth hormones, or steroids. The animals are grass-fed and free range. While they do offer many cuts of meat that some of their fellow vendors also offer, Valentine’s has several items that really set them apart, such as bologna and scrapple.

Julie Melear, one of Valentine’s regulars, loves purchasing meat for her family at Valentine’s. “We’ve had other meats, but we like Valentine’s the best. Their lamb isn’t as gamey as other lamb,” Melear said.

Darletta Miller managed a bakery in Pennsylvania for six years, but now does all of the baking for Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats with the assistance of their daughter and two other ladies. The Millers bring many flavors of pies in different sizes to the market, as well as breads, muffins, and even granola. Whoopie pies, however, are one of their most popular items. The whoopie pies come in several flavors, including pumpkin.

Customer Kate Markey has been purchasing products from Valentine’s for about eight years and has a lot of memories of the Miller family. “The cookies are always a draw,” Markey said, “The bread is fresh and delicious, you can’t get it anywhere else. My kids absolutely love their zucchini bread.”

The Millers sell their natural meats at several different farmers markets, on site at their farm, to retailers, as well as to restaurants. The goal of Valentine’s Country Bakery and Meats is simple: “We want to provide for our family,” Valentine Miller said.

If you would like to try some of the goods that Valentine’s offers, stop by Annandale Market or visit their website for a list of all of their markets to find one that better fits your schedule.