Issue:
July
2008

Story by Benay Bernstein

TASTE SLOW FOOD,
 AN UNDER THE RADAR EXPERIENCE

My daughter, Cole, is working nights as a concierge at the New Orleans Ritz Carleton and has plenty of time to study the New York Times both online and on paper. She has taken it upon herself to keep all our family and friends informed about important or not so important matters of interest. Yesterday on our 7:00 a.m. walk, her post-work walk, Cole told me that a swelling movement to eat native animals and local food is racing across America and the world.

Ancient soul that I am - Aren't all mothers ancient? - I surprised my 27 year old adult child by saying, "So what else is new?" And here's some information for you; there's a "don't miss" national Slow Food event coming up late this August through Labor Day weekend in San Francisco. "You know about Slow Food?" she replied impressed. "I sure do, and I want to tell my readers and invite them to the inaugural event," was my response.

Writing about food and cooking, and wine and spirits, and traveling to exotic places to taste native foods is my mission and I recently discovered my basic beliefs about eating are basic to the message of Slow Food. I am passionate about dining, not eating, about table conversation with friends and family willing to share their thoughts and dreams during a luxurious mealtime. I savor my food, thinking about the great flavors, seasoning and wine pairings. Dining rates time and effort and flowers. I am more than willing to set aside other endeavors to devote myself to the pleasures of the table. Slow Food embodies these beliefs, having risen in 1989 from a groundswell of Europeans determined to challenge the invasion of "fast food."

At first I thought Slow Food meant slow cooking or slow eating. Then I learned Slow Food means it all. It means working with nature to produce bounty native to each geographical region. It means eating food grown nearby and newly harvested when possible and eating seasonal fruit seasonally which is truly exciting because one has had to wait patiently through growing, ripening, harvesting and reverent preparation.

I know that I have an enormous advantage in achieving the goal of fine dining at home or in local restaurants. I live in New Orleans, a city famous for its food but even more importantly we are the old world in the new; we are the slow south in a pulsing nation; we are the southern drawl in a fast talk world and our massive heart keeps us stationary so we have a corner on the time market.

Specialty happenings such as the 2008 "Slow Food Nation" in San Francisco do not appear on the big travel buff radar and may not cross the desk of LuxuryWeb readers. It sounds as fun and delicious a festival as the New Orleans' Wine and Food  Experience and Tales of the Cocktail and is equally unknown in luxury travel circles. Slow Food Nation is a gathering of food experts dedicated to keeping locally grown produce food and meats an integral part of every day consumption. By fostering the redevelopment of our connection to accessible food sources, we recapture the rich, genuine flavors that disappeared with the advent of fast food. At the Slow Food Nation representatives from throughout the country will tell about the progress their regions have made. They will offer tastes of the bountiful foods they grow and tastes of foods they have rescued from near extinction. Many cities and regions throughout the United States have their own chapters, or convivium which meet during the year enlisting top chefs and food producers to educate and feed their citizens with the highest quality local food available. These events are reverent songs of appreciation to fine food and often include great feasts shared with like-minded appreciative people.

Slow Food Nation is the culmination of this work and the presentation of discoveries by growers, farmers, fishermen, ranchers, chefs, restaurateurs, cheese makers, bakers, scientists, dietitians, etc. Every other year there is an international Slow Food gathering called Terra Madre which is held concurrently with the Salone del Gusto and - heads up - this year it will take place in Turin, Italy from October 23rd to 27th.

The Ark of Taste designation is awarded annually to endangered foods of merit so that they can be reintroduced into local and national diets. Ark of Taste selections will be showcased at "Slow Food Nation" to encourage their production and remind consumers to seek them out in the marketplace. We all know that any delicacy available only in limited quantities is, by definition, a valuable commodity. In fact it becomes an exotic, desirable item until readily available to the general public.  I, for one, look forward to tasting some of these rare foods which brings me to the list of fascinating events which will take place during the Slow Food Nation weekend in San Francisco.

Housed in Taste Pavilions designed by San Francisco architectural design firms as donations in support of the Slow Food mission and spread along the pier at Fort Mason Center will be samples of local foods sent from cities throughout the nation. These Pavilions will be open to the general public, at a charge, during four sessions on Saturday and Sunday. One Pavilion will exclusively showcase Marin County foods. Check the following link for a description of the food delights awaiting you or click the events link for descriptions and locations of the Art, Dinners, Journeys, Hikes, National Congress, Victory Garden, Marketplace, Concert, and other events rounding out this premier national gathering, www.slowfoodnation.org/events/themain-event/taste/taste-pavillions/ www.slowfoodnation.org/events.

Alice Waters of Berkeley's, Chez Panisse, will speak both at the Slow Food Nation session discussing the local, national and international impact of Slow Food philosophy and in a session entitled, "Edible Education”, will describe her involvement in Post-Katrina New Orleans schools where she initiated a healthy public school lunch program. Among the other speakers sharing Ms. Water's Slow Food Nation podium will be Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and Carlo Petrini. But if you just want to stroll in the beautiful waterfront park, enjoy the glorious fall weather, see interesting exhibits and savor some tastes of heaven, consider placing San Francisco, California at the top of your destination list this coming Labor Day. I'll see you there - and, with luck, in Turin, Italy in October, too.

© July 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.