Buffalo Rising Online

Apr 15th 2007, 6:02am By Sandy Starks

Slow Food is not about cooking in a crockpot. It is a way of life.

Slow Food, a non-profit, eco-gastronomic, member supported organization, was founded in 1989 in Italy to counteract fast food and fast life. Its members work to reverse the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

The Slow Food mission statement – or as members call it “the Manifesto” – calls for slowing down and enjoying the pleasures of the table.

And what place better than Western New York to practice these ideals?

That is what David Setzer, Brian Mahoney and I thought when we met at Spot Coffee to discuss the possibility of starting a local chapter (or as members say a convivium) of Slow Food. Together with seven other “foodies”, including Tim Herzog of Flying Bison Brewery and Kitty Turgeon, former innkeeper of the Roycroft Inn, we signed the papers to bring Slow Food to WNY.

Our small but dedicated group has sponsored many programs and activities that center on the principles of the Movement. A signature event is The Art & Craft of Dining, first created in 2004 as a part of the first Connections: An Arts & Crafts Conference held at the historic Chautauqua Institution. This seven-course dinner features local seasonal fare prepared by creative chefs. The Art & Craft of Dining continues to be a pivotal part of the conference that has now moved to East Aurora.

Another annual event is the summer BBQ at Flying Bison Brewery featuring down home cooking from area BBQ masters and, of course, refreshing brew from Flying Bison.

During the holiday season our group partners with area farmers to raise heritage breed turkeys as part of the Slow Food Ark program. We are also strong supporters of local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives.

Partnering with historic sites and architectural gems in the city is also a big part of our mission. Slow Food has had events at the Colored Musicians Club (Cooking with Jazz), Kleinhans Music Hall (Snow Food), Roycroft Foundation and Roycroft Inn cooking classes, Parkside Lodge, (NYS Raw-Milk Cheese Tasting), Central Terminal events and most recently at the legendary Broadway Market with the Savor the Flavor Cooking Demonstrations.

For more information about the Slow Food movement, log on to www.slowfoodbuffalo.org.

Sandy Starks is a founding member of Slow Food Buffalo, the Western New York Field Editor for Taste of Home magazine and host of the Broadway Market’s Savor the Flavor cooking demonstrations.