The Emergence of Slow Food

The slow food movement began in the 1970’s by a couple of “engaged youngsters” (Carlo Petrini, Piero Sardo, Alberto Capatti) in the Langhe area of Peidmont, Italy. Since then, membership has grown to an estimated 80,000 people worldwide, although many say that is a conservative estimate. Their main objective is to provide quality local food, so in essence, and as the name suggests, they strive to be the opposite of fast food.

They have created many different organizations since their movement gained popularity, such as Libera e Benemerita Associazione Amici del Barolo (Friends of Barolo Association), which organize group meals and have local wine makers and chefs educate participants as to the history of the meal in the region. This appealed to many people, and within a three year time, their membership has grown from 3,000 to 8,000.

In 1994, they implemented the Master of Food Programme, which included 9,500 participants and about 400 courses. Throughout the years, hands on education have become a large part of the culture of Slow Food.

They also discuss 3 major business dilemmas that face the Slow Food movement moving forward: how to develop a strategy to compete with global bulk-food producers, the desire to create a Piedmont gastronomy cluster versus the movement’s international ambitions, and how to collaborate with private entrepreneurs and sponsors versus the pursuit of social goals.

This directly relates to our visit to a slow food oriented sheep farm for dinner. When we first arrived, we were guided to the most important room of the house… the dining room. We were served some delicious, locally grown, handmade “slow” food until I was on the verge of unbuttoning my pants. The meal went as follows: we started with a spinach tart, chased it with a, as Allesio called it, chestnut omelet, followed that with a sheep and pig meat pasta, and finished off with a fig and pine nut dessert (aka Fig Newton of the gods).

The chef, aka shepherd, aka former art preserver, then talked to us about how she farms, and how she takes care of her sheep. She made it so personal and talked about how important it was to know what you are consuming, treating animals with respect (naming the sheep and bringing them in the house when they are sick), her personal history and how she ended up there, and the history of the farm itself, which was interesting because it is now run by a woman. She truly epitomizes what I believe the slow food movement is all about, quality, locally grown, and most importantly, delicious food.

Ciao,

Connor