For the past twenty years I have being messing around with food, cooking it, reading about it, eating it and if i am true to myself I have being living it.
So this year I packed my bag and went to Terra Madre in Italy, a huge celebration of the best food and culture the world has to offer.
If i had to sum it up in two words, 'mind blowing', cheese makers, truffle hunters, chocolate makers, vegetable growers, olive oil producers, pig farmers, wine makers, bakers, grapa distillers, and much, much more. Everyone I spoke to had this passion for food, you could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice, what an inspiration to all.
I was lucky enough to be able to bring a fantastic young chef that is working with me at the moment in the Castle, Paddy Ryan. What an impression this had on him and I think he will carry the flag for good, honest slow food for the rest of his cooking career. We need to encourage young people to see the benefit of good food, teach them how to grow or make traditional foods before they are lost to the multi nationals.
The Slow Food movement is growing all over the world, but in Ireland we have leveled off, Why? one reason in my opinion is the lack of government organisations such as Bord Bia to encourage the youth of this country to get involved in food. The other is the stupid legislation we have by the Food Safety Authority, they make it almost impossible for small producers to set up business. If they can do it in Italy why can we not do it here?
So we must get up off our ass and make a difference, Ireland has a fantastic natural resource, OUR LAND IS PURE, so lets treat it with respect and get involved in Slow Food..........
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