Education Officer
Slow Food Ludlow & The Marches
Good food shouldn’t be elitist.
Good food should be shared.
Good food is for everyone!
Slow Food is a global organisation focused on promoting good, clean and fair food for everyone. Set up in the 1980s in Italy in response to the arrival of some Golden Arches in Turin, a group of the local community started to call for celebrations of food grown locally, defending regional and historical traditions while promoting good food and a slower pace of life. It’s about promoting the culture of food, and the social aspects of food and it’s about sharing knowledge and passion! Helping to create connections between plate, planet, people, politics and culture. Slow Food is now present in over 160 countries across the globe!
In an ever-accelerating, more complicated and busy world, our food systems are struggling to cope and for me the answer is simple. Let’s get cooking! Spending a bit more of our spare time in the kitchen, cooking fresh meals with fresh produce and eating together could solve an awful lot of our problems. Food has the ability to bring people together, form bonds and provide a structure to even the most hectic of lives. As the Education Officer for Slow Food Ludlow & The Marches, this is what I promote throughout my business.
Everything is speeding up, even the food industry! For the last decade or so, there seems to be a new focus on quick cooking. Recipes and meals that can be cooked in 15 minutes as if that is all the time we have spare to cook! The impact of social media has been immense on promoting cooking but videos summarising meal prep in 30 seconds can cause an impression that cooking needs to be faster, faster, faster! Applying this kind of pressure only leads to more stress in the kitchen, and a less enjoyable experience, and trust me when I say you can taste the stress in your food!
So I’m saying, let’s do the complete opposite. Let’s slow down! Let’s book time in our diaries to maybe spend an entire afternoon cooking. Let’s give ourselves time to enjoy the process, focus on the food, be in the moment and get the great results that will get us hooked on cooking! There is nothing more satisfying than feeding people delicious food! It’s a classic chef cliché but good food is about love and attention!
So I’m saying, lets do the complete opposite. Let’s slow down! Let’s book time in our diaries to maybe spend an entire afternoon cooking. Let’s give ourselves time to enjoy the process, to focus on the food, be in the moment and to get the great results that will get us hooked on cooking! There is nothing more satisfying that feeding people delicious food! It’s a classic chef cliché but good food is about love and attention!
I will always try to promote local, small producers and growers and will always choose to go organic whenever I can. It is not just about the increased quality of produce, or the guilt free eating of sustainable produce but it is also about forging real relationships with real people. Buying produce from people who are passionate about what they do and know their craft! Its also about supporting these people to continue their passion. If we all followed our passion, I feel the world would be a happier place! You can go and see all the local Shropshire suppliers I use in the ‘About’ section!
This sort of produce isn’t easily available to everyone (another one of the major problems we have with our food systems). It also takes time to build this relationship with food, where you want to go and hunt out the best produce you can find. So my advice to anyone starting out on their food journey is if you can, visit your local greengrocer, farm, butcher or fish monger but if you can’t, just cook with whatever produce or ingredients you have and don’t worry about the rest of it yet. If you keep cooking and keep exploring your food journey, after a while you’ll suddenly notice your shopping habits will change!
Slow Food Ludlow & The Marches hold regular events - always highlighting local producers and members - always in a laid-back and easygoing atmosphere. The focus is always on enjoying an evening with some delicious food and good company!
To keep up to date with all things Slow Food, sign up to my newsletter, follow my social media or check out the links below to find out some more! And keep your eyes open for the big red snail!
