April 2006
A New Convivium in Prince Edward County!
It’s true. Slow Food now has a convivium in P.E.C.
SLOW FOOD COMES TO PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY
On a cold November Sunday last year, a group fo 15 people gathered at the Cooper residence together to discuss the Slow Food movement and the feasibility of setting up a convivium in Prince Edward County. The group did not take long to decide that given Prince Edward County’s long agricultural history and increasing reputation as a culinary tourism mecca that a Slow Food Convivium was not only important to The County—but also far overdue.
What is Slow Food?
Slow Food is an international movement which was started by Carlo Pettrini in Italy and came into official being in Paris in 1989. The very name “Slow Food” originated in protest against the continuing expansion of fast food establishments that quickly tend to crowd out local culinary traditions. Slow Food is not a “gourmet” society. It is more about the rediscovery of traditional flavors, locally produced ingredients and savors of regional cooking. The organization believes that quality of life is linked to the pleasure of eating healthy, flavorful food prepared in varied ways versus the dominant salt/fried flavored foods prepared in a standardized way by th fast food industry. It also promotes the importance of the family dinner ritual as an important part of the human experience.
Its head offices are in Bra, in Piedmont, in the north of Italy where the first national association was founded. Other offices have been opened in Switzerland (1995), in Germany (1998) in New York, in the USA (2000), in
France (2003) in Montpellier, and this year in Japan in the northern city of Sendai. Slow Food boasts 80,000 members in more than 100 countries, organized into more than 800 local convivia. In Italy there are about 35,000 members and 360 convivia (in Italy known as condotte). There are approximately 18 Convivia in Canada In the rest of the world, there are about 450 convivia and the number is continuing to grow. The condotte in Italy and the convivia worldwide are the linchpins of the Slow Food movement and interpret and represent its philosophy at local level.
The Slow Food Manifesto promotes the safe guarding of local economies, the preservation of indigenous gastronomic traditions and the creation of a new kind of ecologically aware consumerism committed to sustainability.
What does a Convivium Do?
The convivium leaders are responsible for organizing through the members and the central office, food and wine events and initiatives, create moments of conviviality, raise the profile of products and promoting local farmers, culinary artisans and wine cellars. The convivium leaders also organize tasting courses and Taste Workshops and promulgates new food and wine developments and knowledge of the products and cuisines of other areas. In short, the group educates in matters of taste.
Local rootedness and decentralization (plus the ensuing conservation of typicality) - and without forgetting the voluntary nature of its representatives contribution - are the most authentic characteristics of the movement, and the network of contacts it has built over the years represents without doubt its most valuable asset.
How to get involved,
Sign up to the Prince Edward County Slow Food Convivium by visiting http://www.slowfood.com
By the end of the year, the group hopes to have its own website up.
Watch for its activities and programs in the coming months. And if you would like to volunteer, please contact Petra Cooper at 416-435-6540 or email her a .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
