Slow Food philosophy travels the world through Food Heroes exhibition

Five emblematic stories showcasing the model of the Presidia and the Cooks’ Alliance on display at Italian Embassies to celebrate the 7th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, as part of a collaboration with he Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Italy.

Slow Food wants to celebrate its shared commitment to the enhancement of local products, respect for the environment and traditions of the land together with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

The occasion for the launch is the 7th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, whose theme is Conviviality, sustainability and innovation: the ingredients of Italian cuisine for the health of people and the protection of the planet. Through a traveling photographic and digital exhibition, five emblematic stories tell the work of women and men in the Slow Food network in Italy who are defending the traditions, culture, and environment of their communities through food.

From Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where beekeepers who produce Carso Marasca honey, defying the harshness of the karst terrain to bring bees to forage for nectar from the mahaleb cherry blossoms, to Puglia, where the mussel farmers of Taranto have handed down the art of mussel farming, defying the prejudices that, all too often, surround the city.

From Liguria, we meet the producers of Sciacchetrà, a noble and ancient passito wine made on the terraces of the Cinque Terre: a heroic viticulture that not only ensures that the wine continues to be produced, but also ensures a form of landscape protection from erosion and abandonment.

In Sicily we discover the Ristorante Casa e Putia in Messina, run by Adriana Sirone and her husband Nino Mostaccio: the first osteria in the Sicilian city on the Strait to receive the “Snail” award in Slow Food’s Osterie d’Italia Guide. Finally, from the Marche region, we witness the passion of cheese producers in the Sibillini Mountains who produce Slow Food Presidium pecorino from raw milk.

The stories of these Food Heroes reaffirm the strategic role food can play as an agent of sustainability and change.

Besides the value of protecting biodiversity, the importance of informing and taking a position in our local community is also underlined through the project: progress begins with the exchange of stories and knowledge, and improves our relationships with one other.

Follow us on social media and discover the stories here