Couples huddled under umbrellas; anoraks poorly shielded fairgoers’ faces. But lining up an hour before the St. Ambrose Spring Fair officially started on this last Sunday in March was the only way to guarantee a piping-hot cup of Mary Ellen Masters’s Minorcan clam chowder. Rain be damned.

The life of Mrs. Masters’s peppery chowder began four days earlier at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, where volunteers rendered salt pork and sautéed 18 cases of onions. Mrs. Masters, in a “Proud to Be a Minorcan” apron and rhinestone glasses, supervised the scene. Nearby, two food processors blitzed celery stalks and bell peppers.

“Mary Ellen says no chunks allowed,” said Sarah Pierce, a volunteer, as she culled irregular bits.

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