What is Slow Food?

What do a chef in the Bay Area, a traditional cheese maker in Louisiana, a non-profit director in New York City, and a blogger in Washington, DC have in common? All are passionate supporters of Slow Food, an international non-profit organization founded in 1989 to advocate for a return to traditional eating habits.

Slow Food: A Brief History

The Slow Food movement got its start in Paris, France when delegates from 15 countries, led by Italian Carlos Petrini (the "founding father" of Slow Food) met to sign its founding manifesto. Now approaching its 20th anniversary, the movement is picking up steam and has chapters in all corners of the globe, from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo and Cape Town to Stockholm, numbering over 80,000 members in total.

"The Slow Philosophy

The Slow Food Manifesto penned by founding member, Folco Portinari, champions slow food as an antidote to the "fast life" and "fast food" that have drastically altered cultures worldwide over the last 100 years. As Portinari writes, "Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food."

Other key ideals of the Slow Food movement are sure to resonate with both professional and aspiring chefs:

• Food should taste good and eating should be a pleasurable activity.
• Food should be produced in a clean, environmentally-friendly manner that promotes good health. Eco-gastronomy, or the intimate connection between what's on the plate and our planet's well-being, is emphasized.
• Producers of food should be fairly compensated for their work.
• Consumers of food are considered co-producers who should be informed about and supportive of sustainable food production efforts.

Is Slow the New Fast?

With Burger King and Taco Bell never lacking for customers, Slow Food ideals seem to be catching on, even in the U.S., where many of the convenience foods reviled by the movement originated. Interest in locally grown and organic produce, meat, and dairy products has led to substantial growth in the number of farmers' markets across the country. Browse the cooking section at your favorite bookstore and you'll notice title after title devoted to fresh, seasonal ingredients. Even the fast food chains and mega-retailers are getting on the bandwagon. Wal-Mart now carries a selection of organic products and McDonald's offers organic coffee (while its counterparts in the United Kingdom recently announced a move to organic dairy products!).

The slowing of our culture's eating habits is good news for culinary students and chefs who enjoy taking time to cook from scratch with the freshest possible ingredients. As renowned chef (and Slow Food champion) Alice Waters writes in her new cookbook The Art of Simple Food, "When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is." Do you agree? Learn more about this growing movement and decide for yourself.

Sources

• The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters
• Organic Consumers
• Slow Food International