Slow Food Chefs' Alliance

With restaurants thinking ever more about sustainability issues, this Monday, 21st March, Slow Food is relaunching the Slow Food Chef’s Alliance within the UK. One of the first countries in the world with an Alliance, it is now joined by sixteen other countries from France to Mexico.

The Chef Alliance differs from other sustainability schemes by considering food heritage and food culture as well as production methods.

By considering Food, like wine, to have a sense of terroir is not only good for our agricultural heritage, it makes sound business sense too: the holy grail for consumers is authenticity.

Chef, Andy Link at The Riverside - just outside of Ludlow - sums it up as thus “Chefs and restaurants are a vital link between producers and consumers. It’s both an opportunity and an obligation for chefs at all levels to provide a route to market for tiny producers, such as farmers and shepherds, who are working incredibly hard and don’t have time to promote themselves.

We can make that link by steering the attitudes of consumers to make them aware of seasonal, local and sustainable produce, and all our menus at The Riverside are written around that.” Though he does himself a disservice for failing to mention they also grow their own vegetables, keep bees, and fish in the river between service.

In a similar vain Alison Henderson of Scotland’s Colstoun Cookery School describes her values as “#sustainable #nutrition #growyourown #foraged #local #seasonal #simple #quality #toptotaileating #zerofoodwaste #sharing #supporting small farmers & local producers #connecting with the community-producers, students, consumers #traditional skills & family recipes & passing those on #heritage”

The #hashtags are hers. But we like them, and believe our landscape and diets would be better if more of us adopted them.

We salute her and every Chef that wants to join us.

email [email protected] for more information

Shane Holland is the Executive Chairman of Slow Food in the UK. He frequently appears in the media commenting on sustainable food and farming.

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