Tamborine Mountain chef Terri Taylor has been selected as one of 21 Australian delegates to “Terra Mardre”, the biannual world conference of the Slow Food movement held in Turin, Italy for five days from October 21.
Terri will be joined by Kylie Kwong (celebrity chef), Matthew Evans (TVs The Gourmet Farmer), Clarence Stocklee (ABCs Gardening Australia presenter).
The five-day meeting will bring together food communities, cooks, academics, youth and musicians from all over the world, who are united in a desire to promote sustainable local food production in harmony with the environment while respecting knowledge handed down over the generations. Terra Madre - loosely translated as mother earth - is a sustainable food conference organised by Slow Food organizations of the world.
Terri Taylor
Slow Food for sustainable and healthy living
So what exactly is Slow Food? Terri Taylor has a quick answer, "The flip side of fast food! Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work".
These are exactly the philosophies Terri brings to her Tamborine Cooking School. Tamborine Cooking School is located on the Mountain amongst 2 acres of gardens on the Western Escarpment overlooking the Albert Valley on Mt Tamborine.
Terri says, "Tamborine Mountain has a wealth of fresh, quality local produce: seasonal olives, macadamia, dukka and cheeses. There is a lot more to Tamborine Mountain than our famous rhubarb and avocados!"
The Tamborine Cooking School practices the Slow Food principals as many of the vegetables herbs and fruits are grown organically right there at the Tamborine Cooking School.
Terri Taylor has generously agreed to provide the Tamborine Mountain Daily Star with a weekly column dedicated to the practices of the Slow Food movements, with gardening tips and seasonal recipes.
Another famous Slow Food Chef is Jamie Oliver. Here is one of his latest videos featuring Jamie when he took the Slow Food concept to the heartlands of the Junk Food Nation - Huntington in West Virginia USA.
Jamie Oliver's message is stark and we all need to be aware of how food and health are inexorably linked. Minor changes in eating behaviour makes enormous differences to the quality of our lives, and the lives of our children.