CULINARYUPDATE
10 Trends In Food
fALL 2009
celebratedliving.com
76
Slow FoodMovement
It began inRomeasaprotest against the
encroachment of fast-food franchises in
Rome’s center, but hasnowgrown intoa
worldwide advocacy group zealously
trying to preserve food traditions and
culture, lobbyingagainst theuseof pesti-
cides, and inveighingagainst large-scale
agribusiness.Withmore than 100,000
members in 132 countries, the
SlowFood
Movement
’sactual effect on restaurant
dininghasbeenmore tomake cooksand
dinersawareof theessential goodnessof
food farmedand cooked from scratch,
whileeducating thepublicabout the con-
cernsof toxins, pollution, contamination,
and commercial preparationof the foods
weeat everyday.
Farm to Table Eating
Acorollaryof theSlowfoodMovement, this
easy-to-understand ideahasbecomeaman-
tra forchefswhobelieve that thecloser the
ingredientsourcesare to therestaurant, the
better the foodwillbe.forwhileanychef
canship inwhiteasparagus fromBelgium, it
is farmorerational tobuygreenasparagus,
corn,and tomatoes from local farmers.As
AliceWaters,ownerof thepioneering
Chez
Panisse
inBerkeley,California, told
USA
Today
aboutpicking freshherbs, “Yousmell
theseflowersand lemonverbenaandbasil
— it’s intoxicating. You don’t need the
rhetoric.You justneed theplateof food.” In
turn,WatershasgottenMichelleObama to
plantavegetablegardenat theWhite
House.At
Luce
at the InterContinentalSan
francisco, chefDominiqueCrennoffersa
meat-and-seafood tastingmenuandaveg-
etable tastingmenu that iscreatedeach
dayon thebasisofwhat’sbestand freshest
in theseasonalmarket.
BlueHill atStone
Barns
inPocanticoHills,NewYork, has
trademarked the term“KnowThyfarmer,”
andexecutive chef DanBarber draws his
fruits, vegetables, poultry, andhogs from
the farmlandaround the restaurant and
fromavast greenhouse.
Campo di Fiori FarmersMarket
in Rome, Italy
Tending the calves at Moon in the
Pond Farm in Sheffield, Vermont
Excellent examples from the Slow FoodMovement
(four left images): Lettuce grows in the Slow Food
Nation Victory Garden in San Francisco.
Local figs, grapes, and apples for
dessert in San Francisco
Lamb loin served at Luce
