October, 2008

Slow Food Nation Tests Patience, In a Healthy Way

By Kerry Fleisher

Slow Food Nation’s “Come to the Table,” held last month at Fort Mason, drew foodies, epicureans, and novice eaters together to taste organically and sustainably grown foods.  The slow food movement, founded in the 1980’s by Italian Carlo Petrini, exhorts the most impatient eaters to slow down and re-conceive food as an art form, social responsibility, and culinary science.  Slogans such as ‘cook from scratch,’ ‘eat together,’ and ‘drink from the tap’ capture a movement that’s simple in theory, but a little tougher in practice, particularly when the only thing slower than the food at the event were the lines to get to it.
Come to the Table’s beauty, of course, was that it practiced what it preached: enduring a 30 minute line in order to chat with a tea sommelier, then sipping on a green tea flight, is much hipper – and more tasty – than, say, lining up for a paper cup of something at Costco.  Come to the Table simulated real life shopping, providing each participant with a “slow dough” card that allowed them up to 20 food samples.  Participants strolled through the Taste Pavilion, munched on flights of jam, pickles or you-name-it, sipped bio-dynamic wine, and schmoozed about all things edible while patiently waiting for the next food sample.
The Taste Pavilion featured more than a dozen types of food and drink, including fish, dry meats, coffee, ice cream, olive oil, cheese, and beer.  Each booth was accompanied by informative visuals that listed the “clean” and “fair” aspects of that particular local industry.  Never too heavy-handed, the signs gave participants some food for thought while stomachs growled.  The salumipedia at the charcuterie, for example (which “juxtaposes process and product”), allowed meat-eaters to trace the origins of their dried meat.  At the honey and preserves booths, one could even meet the chefs: bees from the Sebastopol were proudly presented next to their product.
The chocolate booth volunteers first discussed the fermentation and drying stages of cacao beans to tasters, and then offered a chocolate plate with bits of chocolate pre- and post-processing.  At the spirit booth, those concerned about drinking too heavily on the weekends were invited to reconsider spirits as “an economic vehicle that allows farmers to preserve their crop…and diversify their income.”  Cucumber vodka mojitos drove that point home.  The pickle and chutney booth was a consistent favorite, dishing out slices of fermented, dill, and sour pickles from such independent pickle-producing heroes as “Jenny Jack,” “Charlene,” and “Papa Pat.”
The food samples were creative enough to please the most callous of eaters.  One popular jam consisted of white nectarine, elderflower, and green almonds.  The fish sample plate included braised calamari with coriander and chick peas, a sardine crostini, and albacore with eggplant-chorizo ragout.  At the biodynamic wine booth, sommeliers discussed the ins and outs of “detox for vineyards,” while one Mendocino wine producer talked about how cows are ideal for keeping up a field’s nitrogen levels, and how sheep make great, sustainable tractors, an important skill to have around if a farm is attempting to go biodynamic.  The Food Pavilion also included two booths of native foods, serving Native American organic bison and corn posole, and Indian naan breads.
Come to the Table attempted to dispel taboos about food, its origins, and the food industry in general.  The charcuterie booth, subtitled “nose to tail eating,” played videotapes from the hanging room; showcased meat artwork; and displayed posters of cows’ anatomy with its corresponding food products.  At the fish section, the representative from Alaska’s “Save Our Wild Salmon” organization spoke candidly (when provoked) about food politics, particularly in light of his governor’s recent leap into the national stage.  “It’s a catch-22 about Sarah Palin.  We’re all glad she’s leaving, but then again, she might take over the country,” he said, noting that “she has always given away any fishing industry to the highest bidder.”  
With a mostly well-heeled crowd filling up the pavilion – the price of admission started at $40 – the slow foods movement seems to be expanding beyond a small niche of food connoisseurs and devotees to incorporate a more mainstream and ready-to-adapt audience. One volunteer who manned the compost, recycled, and trash bins noted that “everyone is using the compost.  I don’t even know why we have a trash bin here.”