Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance Taiwan Indigenous Peoples launched in Taiwan

On Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the founding members of the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cooks’ Alliance, joined together at the Hualien County Indigenous Wild Vegetable Center (花蓮縣原住民族野菜學校) to announce their upcoming event: Indigenous Terra Madre on October 28-29, 2023 in Hualien.

The Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Cooks’ Alliance, part of the Slow Food movement, based in Hualien, a county with a diverse indigenous culinary culture, is comprised of 18 founding members, with Lengos Laho as the Alliance spokesperson.

Hualien County Magistrate, Hsu Chen-Wei, expressed that by aligning with principles of Slow Food, indigenous cooks of Hualien can continue to create dishes that amaze the international community, and preserve their culinary traditions.

The Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Cooks’ Alliance agreed upon several initiatives to achieve together, including fostering connections between indigenous peoples and other communities, and working to preserve and promote traditional cooking methods. Their goal is to show the value of indigenous traditions within Taiwan, and the Asia Pacific region. The Cooks’ Alliance also agrees to run their kitchens in accordance with Slow Food values, such as changing their menus seasonally and buying ingredients from local, sustainable producers.

The Cooks’ Alliance will also have an important role in Taiwan’s Indigenous Terra Madre – an international event that aims to promote indigenous peoples’ food cultures and traditions – which will take place in Hualien between October 28-29, 2023. This event will welcome indigenous farmers, indigenous tourism organizations, and artisanal shops to participate. The objective is to facilitate exchange and mutual learning of business practices and concepts through on-site interactions, cultural sharing, and commercial negotiations. The event also aims to create various business opportunities through networking.

The Hualien County Government organized two international Slow Food Forums in 2019 and 2021. During the pandemic, the momentum continued with online exchanges. With borders now reopened, the 2023 Indigenous Terra Madre in Hualien is set to invite Slow Food communities and chefs from India, Italy, South Korea, Thailand, USA, and other countries to visit Hualien, with the aim to promote international visibility of indigenous culinary culture and to strengthen the Asia Pacific indigenous people’s network. The event will welcome Slow Food communities from different regions of Taiwan, including Slow Fish Miaoli, the Hualien Taiwan Biodiversity Conservation Organization, and the Slow Food Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Cooks’ Alliance. Attendees will find promotional content related to Slow Food, making it a great opportunity for those interested in learning more about Slow Food and indigenous culinary culture.

The Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance is a broad network of cooks from all over the world joining forces to defend food biodiversity. People with diverse backgrounds and cooking styles work to achieve a common goal: to launch a movement for sustainable kitchens, which means safeguarding territories, biodiversity, good products that need care, fighting waste, recovery, recycling, combating the climate crisis, and social solidarity. Slow Food works with them to raise awareness within the restaurant industry about the challenges small-scale farmers and food artisans who protect food biodiversity and care for fragile, marginal environments face every day. The project also disseminates knowledge among cooks and consumers.

Slow Food International Press Office

Paola Nano – [email protected] (+39) 329 8321285

Alessia Pautasso – [email protected] (+39) 342 8641029