Sunday 26/10/08: what a day!

the day started healthily by a long walk along the river that follows a very fortunate path up to Lingotto, where food has now been celebrated for 4 days...

I tell you what:I can feel these 4 days... Tiredness is settling in however the day's programme is packed: 1 workshop on wild goat cheese from teh region of Lazio, part 2 of the course on History of Gastronomy, a conference on Food crisis and potential solution and finally 1 workshop on Barbaresco! I even managed to spend a further 2 hours in the Presidia market, discovering about the delicious combination of spicy plum jam and emmental, pulse soup made with a strange bean that thinks it is a chickpea (exact name tbc at a later stage), the famous jams from Transilvania that Jim Turnbull found and truned into a Presidium a  few years ago

there was also very good displays from the Italian regions: Sicily showed us their lemons, honey and wines ; Campania, its pomodoro, cheeses and olive oil etc...

I also got trapped in the chocolate aisle, which as a redeeming factor is also a speciality of Turin! I however was impressed by the creativity and the quality of the Tuscan chocolate, either ganache (Urzi) or aromatised chocolate bars (deBont)

amongst all this, we had time for a few songs by 'the Gardeners', Irish folk band and some Calamari fritto (light crisp slightly peppery batter covering super fresh and juicy calamar... served in a paper cone, aimed at being eaten on the spot with fingers... are you salivating yet?)

Saturday 25/10/08

more Terra Madre, more inspirational speeches, more interesting encounters... amongst strong Italian domination!

France was on the menu in the morning with the presidia for: le petit Epautre de Haute Provence, Le Rancio de Catalogne (there is a story behind this that I will tell you later, people are waiting for the computer!), a bit more chocolate from Ecuador

I then found my way to yet another conference with Vandana Shiva on the impact of global change on food security... I think I have found my guru: Vandana lives and breath what she preaches, it is a real experience to listen to her! these guys have been working at a manifesto on climate change and the future of food security, emphasizing the impact of industrial agriculture on the environment, on the increase of green gas emmission. We were warned on false solutions being offered that would make the matter worse... go on teh website and find out more about this manifesto: www.future-food.com and sign the petition... again guys, remember, we can make a difference if we join forces!

I also spent 2 hours learning about the history of gastronomy, the influence of environment on our diet, the influence of our diet on our industry, the way people managed their food sources - transition between a hunter-gatherer society to an agricutural one, from free access to meat from the woods to having to purchase it when it became property of the aristocracy etc... (again, more details will be posted in due time!)

the day concluded on a British reception in front of the Slow Food UK stand where I met Jim Trunbull and learnt more about his Romanian success story of founding convivia and farmers market there, also discuss the place that local government could take in supporting our movement... plenty of willing people, fantastic ideas and passion... let's all hope that something concrete comes out of this!

Obviously each day has ended with a good dinner with local wine, again more to come on this as soon as I can get a computer all to myself for more than 10 minutes...

I'm running now, back to the show to find out more!

Friday 24/10 - Terra madre, Terra Madre, Terra Madre...

I found the Slow Food Spirit and it is there, with sparly eyes and a crust of bread on the corner of its mouth... it feeds you cheese, cured meat and honey with a story, a smile and a hand shake. It tells you about the land and its people, it tells you about tradition and how crucial it is to keep it alive, for Grand-Dad's sake, for the people framed in the sepia photo above the fire place but also for the little kids, grabbing samples intrigued, curious, hungry, happy!

Today I visited Italy in 2 hours and 30 stands, a handful of lovely leaflets. I've learnt about the Black bees in Sicily, the dried goat meat from el parque nacional de Gargano, el pannerone di Lodi (no salt added), el pomodorino del piennolo del Vesuvio, el biroldo della Garfagnana etc... a shower of taste and texture, experience, methods and savoir-faire

there was also a Slow Food UK meeting. It was good to see that UK is well represented this year through its producers, its convivia, its youth. It was a great opportunity to meet again with Tamara, Sophie and Anneke standing for the Thames Organic growers, catching up with Will form the Vaults, our Slow Food Chef, Paul from Oxford Slow Food students, all feeling boyant and extremely inspired, excited by this community of likely minded people, exchanging ideas faster than you can breath. We are all meeting up again tomorrow to get to know one another better, building plans for when we come back, getting our passion geared toward a common goal, identified synergies between our different groups

Geoff Andrews was there, Colin Tudge and Ruth West were there...

I manage to grab most of a Terra Madre conference on seeds and biodiversity, so inspiring, so frustrating... I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, but that's why I came here, to find the spirit of Slow Food and I find it!

I do hope that these clumsy few lines will bring it to you, a least a taste of it!

The workshop I attended today was about beer and chocolate, artisan made both of them, passionate brewers and chocolatiers, daring, risky mixes, beautiful products!

Thursday 23/10/08

opening day of El Salone, Italy at its bets displaying a pletore of Italian produces, by theme, by region, by pavilion.... in italian for educational purposes, all managed italian style... Guys, we are in Italy!

This alledged International Food Fair with strong mediterranean accent allowed Barbarians to get in and even shelter! when we reached the International pavillion late morning, the non italian crew was still setting up stands...

Sweden had cheeses and jams on display, Germany went for pork, cured meats and pates, Swizerland for Emmental and Gruyere, ranging from a velvety soft paste to a crumbly pungeant bite

Amongst this rather diverse display, a few gems such as a French vinegar artisan maker, offering an alternative to infamous Balsamic (as we know it in the UK), a large scale olive oil producer from Sicily selling the familly story as a PR for exquisite oils from mono varieties

Honey is also key to this Salone, especially for us who have been told by the media that the bees are dying, that honey will be scarce... Well, you will be pleased to know that the Italian bees are well and happy... feeding of exotic plants such lime tree, rododendrons, sunflowers etc... giving us the opportunity to enjoy subtil and complex aromas in a smooth and thick paste

The Spanish displayed cured salmon, smoked salmon, salmon sausages etc...

and then it was time for a break for the day

did I miss out on the UK stands, no I did not but only found 2: the SFUK stand offering leaflets to tasters and the Ockney Barley company offering leaflets as well (the bread will be for tasting today (Friday), I have been told)

My initial reaction would be that all food fairs look the same. I am looking for the Slow food spirit, it's here, I have seen it but it is rather elusive, maybe due to the language barrier, maybe because when you are renting such a vast exhibition place, you are less discrimating towards the way you fill it... It is too early to talk about disappointment but desillusion is setting in!

 I will be posting my workshops report as comments

the day finished with a delicious diner at the end of the day at the 'Vitel Etonne' somewhere in Turin downtown, beautiful little restaurant with a proper cellar where guests are invited to go and pick up their wine, you can even have a snack in there to absorb the ambiance!

Cheers

Muryel