Five Local Delegates to Attend International Terra Madre

Central Florida’s local gastronomic flair will have a presence internationally when Slow Food Orlando representatives attend Terra Madre in Turin, Italy, this fall.

A Slow Food program, Terra Madre is an international network of food producers, chefs, educators, activists and students from more than 150 countries who all have the common interest and goal of global sustainability in food. Five of Orlando’s own local delegates were recently accepted to attend Terra Madre 2010.

This biennial event is hosted in the mother country of Slow Food – Italy. Delegates will have the opportunity to share innovative solutions and time-honored traditions for keeping small-scale agriculture and sustainable food production alive and well.

Slow Food Orlando has a strong local food community and is fortunate enough to send three area farmers, a chef and a local seafood representative to the prestigious conference. The experience will provide them with new knowledge and techniques to bring back to Central Florida, to better satisfy the region’s growing demand for local, farm fresh and artisanal foods.

This year’s Orlando delegates are Trish Strawn of Deep Creek Ranch; Dale Volker of Lake Meadow Naturals; Cinthia Sandoval of Wild Ocean Seafood Market; Oliver Kann of Heart of Christmas Farms; and Tony Adams of Big Wheel Provisions. Slow Food Orlando Co-Founder and Co-Leader, Rebecca Reis-Miller, will also be attending as an observer at the conference.

Slow Food is an idea, a way of living, and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment. Slow Food Orlando is a chapter of Slow Food USA, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America. This effort is supported through programs and activities dedicated to taste education, defending biodiversity, and building food communities. Slow Food USA believes that pleasure and quality in everyday life can be achieved by ‘slowing down’, respecting the convivial traditions of the table, and celebrating the diversity of the earth’s bounty. For more information about the Orlando chapter, visit www.SlowFoodOrlando.org