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About the Tour
We are just back from an intense 3-week tour!
From May 8th through May 23rd, Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini toured several US cities in order to promote his latest book, Slow Food Nation. Accompanied by Slow Food USA Executive Director Erika Lesser, Carlo was welcomed warmly by Slow Food convivia leaders and members, and by the public at large. The tour provided Carlo and Slow Food the opportunity to talk about the principles of good, clean, and fair food, and to witness some of the wonderful work that farmers, chefs, and co-producers are doing around the country.
Carlo and Erika traveled to Portland, OR; San Francisco; Sonoma; New York City; Princeton, NJ; Chicago; Chapel Hill and Raleigh, NC; accompanied by Carlo Bogliotti from Slow Food International, and Deena Goldman and Jerusha Klemperer from the Slow Food USA office. In several cities, Erika acted as Carlo’s translator, and in some, he was translated by Corby Kummer Senior Editor of the Atlantic Monthly (who is also a Slow Food USA Advisory Board member).
Here’s Erika’s recap of the many places and flavors:
The first stop was in Portland, where Carlo spoke to 2500 people at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research hosted the event as part of their Saward Lecture Series that also hosted Eric Schlosser. The Center also organized a farm visit to meet a farmer from Clackamas County who will be providing produce for a new farmers market at a local Kaiser clinic; a breakfast meeting with their employees; and a lunchtime talk with local advocates for fresh, sustainable food. It was also a wonderful opportunity to visit with the leaders of Slow Food Portland. Members of this strong local convivium staffed a Slow Food information table at the event, and attended the lecture en masse.
Our next stop was San Francisco, where Slow Food Nation, the 2008 event, was officially announced at a press lunch at Greens restaurant. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom welcomed Slow Food Nation to the city as Alice Waters, Carlo Petrini, and newly-hired Slow Food Nation Director Eric McDougall talked about the importance of good, clean and fair food and gave an overview of our plans for this four-day celebration expected to attract 50,000 people. That evening, Carlo received an enthusiastic welcome at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason - thanks to the energetic efforts of Slow Food Nation Content Director Sarah Weiner, the leaders and members of Slow Food San Francisco and countless volunteers. Slow Food San Francisco also organized a visit for us to the Sanchez College Preparatory School garden where we saw the season's freshest fava beans and some fantastically large onions—all grown and harvested by the children!
San Francisco also saw some controversy stemming from a passage in Carlo’s book about the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and so while in the city Carlo and Erika met with the Executive Director and some Board members of CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture), which organizes the Ferry Plaza market, along with some farmers from the market. The goals of the meeting were to clarify Carlo’s intentions about what he wrote, and to seek to mend our relationship with both CUESA and the individual farmers. Please click here to read the letter that Carlo wrote in advance of that meeting.
We concluded our stay in California with a great afternoon hosted by Slow Food Sonoma Valley and Slow Food Valley of the Moon. The day started off with lunch at the Sonoma Community Center with over 70 community members, including cheesemaker Ig Vella and father-son farmers Bob Canard Sr. and Bobby Canard. Carlo then gave a lecture at the Sebastiani Theater to a full crowd.
Fast forward to New York City, where Carlo spoke at the American Museum of Natural History to over 600 people, and also met with Slow Food USA staff in the Brooklyn office. We also spoke at the NYC press conference announcing Slow Food Nation 2008, followed by a visit to the United Nations. The next day we gathered a posse of staff and local journalists for a day trip to Princeton, NJ, which included a visit to the Lawrenceville School to see their school food project, and Carlo’s lecture at Princeton University that evening. Before arriving for the lecture, however, we all got a taste of New Jersey terroir with gelato, American-style, made by Terra Madre delegates Gabrielle Carpone-Errico and Matt Errico at The Bent Spoon in Princeton, N.J.
Our next stop was Chicago, where Carlo spoke to over 600 people gathered at Northwestern Law School. We also enjoyed meeting chefs and students at Kendall Culinary College. The following day, we visited Prairie Fruits Farm in Central Illinois and enjoyed a convivial picnic lunch with area farmers and Terra Madre delegates Leslie Cooperband and Wes Jarrell, meeting their goats, and tasting their wonderful cheese. Thanks to Slow Food Chicago for an incredible weekend.
The last leg of the tour was in North Carolina, where local convivia and CEFS (Center for Environmental Farming Systems) hosted us for a full, exciting and delicious few days. Andrea Reusing, who is not only a convivium leader and Terra Madre delegate but also chef and owner of Lantern restaurant in Chapel Hill, hosted us for dinner one night together with leaders from Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte for an incredible meal of local ingredients infused with Asian flavors and traditions.
The next day we visited three very different farms in the Triangle area. The first was a “pick your own” farm, where we talked with several migrant guest workers from Mexico to learn more about their background and the issues they face as agricultural laborers (North Carolina has the largest number of documented guest workers of any state in the union). We then visited Peregrine Farm, where Terra Madre delegates Alex and Betsy Hitt grow fruits, vegetables and flowers, for a tour and glorious picnic lunch. Only hours later we joined over 300 local members, farmers and other enthusiastic eaters for a Farm to Fork Picnic at Chapel Hill Creamery, which was also the launch of Eat Local Triangle month, inaugurated with pea-shelling and egg toss contests, a bluegrass band and more delicious heritage pork than we could possibly eat. Finally, on our last day, Carlo gave a lecture at North Carolina State University, sponsored by CEFS, where he spoke (and I translated) to over 900 people, concluding our US tour with a standing ovation and many new friends, coast to coast.
Now that we’re back home, in Brooklyn and Bra, I must admit I’m glad I don’t have to get on another airplane for a little while. But the experience was more than worth it; it was eye-opening, taste-bud-tingling, thought-provoking and incredibly fun, and that was only seven cities’ worth; I can only imagine what the rest of the country will offer up next time.
I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all the convivium leaders, members, sponsors, partner organizations, volunteers and other organizers who gave generously of their time, energy, enthusiasm and good will! They helped us make this tour not just a success on paper but an incredibly memorable experience for everyone involved. But don’t take my word for it; read what others had to say . . .
And don’t forget to SAVE THE DATE for Slow Food Nation, May 1-4, 2008 in San Francisco. Check out our new Slow Food Nation website for a preview, and to stay connected through this year-long campaign promoting Good, Clean and Fair food for everyone! |
