A major collaboration between Slow Food and Relais & Châteaux for #foodforchange takes shape at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2018

22 Sep 2018 | English

An important conference within the framework of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto marks a crucial step in the collaboration between Slow Food and Relais & Châteaux for #foodforchange, a campaign to raise awareness about the relationship between food and climate change

The chef Olivier Roellinger (Les Maisons de Bricourt in Cancale, France), vice president of the Relais and Châteaux association, and a great supporter of the Food for Change campaign; the Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam (Teranga in New York, USA), recently described as the “king of the new African cuisine”; and Claudia Albertina Ruiz Sántiz, a member of the indigenous Tsotsil, chef, and owner of the restaurant Kokonó di San Cristóbal de las Casas were the protagonists of a conference that took place yesterday at Nuvola Lavazza, the new headquarters of the coffee manufacturer. Lavazza has been a partner of Salone del Gusto since the event’s early editions. Dan Saladino, producer of The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4, moderated the discussion.

Food for Change is not only the motto of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, but also the title of Slow Food’s campaign against climate change.

The climate has indeed changed and is continuing to change. The first to feel the consequences are often farmers, herders, fishers, artisans, and cooks. Chefs can play a crucial role in the fight against climate change: By consciously purchasing local products and collaborating with farmers, they can influence change and ensure sustainability. Today’s chefs have a powerful influence on public opinion and, as such, have the responsibility to act wisely.

Cooking local and seasonal products, eliminating industrially produced meat, or having a fully vegetarian approach significantly help to reduce the ecological footprint of the food system.

Relais & Chateaux chefs have a driving desire to protect and promote the richness and diversity of the world’s cuisines and traditions of hospitality. In collaboration with Slow Food, a menu to combat climate change and protect biodiversity will be offered by one hundred Relais & Chateaux all around the world the first week of october.

Since 1996, Slow Food has been working on the Ark of Taste project. The Ark, which now contains almost 5,000 products, was created to draw attention to the risk of the extinction of traditional foods, varieties, and breeds within a few generations and invite everyone to take action to help protect them. In some cases this might be by buying and consuming them, in some by telling their story and supporting their producers, and in others, such as the case of endangered wild species, this might mean eating less or none of them in order to preserve them and favor their reproduction.

The collaboration between Slow Food and Relais & Chateaux is best expressed in the creation of a sustainable and climate-friendly menu by restaurateurs, and in particular through the use of Ark and Slow Food Presidia products. For example, Chateau Monfort in Milan uses the Lucca Red Bean  and the Cicerale Chickpea; chefs at the Blue Margouillat Seaview Hotel on the island of Reunion use La Réunion Barbel Palm; and crow corn and meat from the Celtic pig are featured at the restaurant A Quinta da Auga in Santiago de Compostela.

Relais & Châteaux counts some of the most acclaimed chefs in the world among its members, and some of them have been involved with Slow Food since the beginning—for example, Michel Bras (Maison Bras in Laguiole, France), a hero of plant-based cuisine who draws inspiration from the wide open spaces of the Aubrac plateau, his birthplace, has nominated 15 products to the Ark of Taste, including Aubrac Dairy Cattle and melsat; and enthusiastically supported the creation of the Saint-Flour Golden Lentil Slow Food Presidium.

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto Press Office

Slow Food International: +39 0172 419 645 [email protected],

Città di Torino: +39 011 0112 36 02 – +39 349 416 2657 – [email protected]

Regione Piemonte: +39 011 4322 549 – [email protected]

Slow Food is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet. Slow Food involves over a million activists, chefs, experts, youth, farmers, fishers and academics in over 160 countries. Among them, a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members are linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide, contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize. As part of the network, more than 2,400 Terra Madre food communities practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.

Relais & Châteaux Established in 1954, Relais & Châteaux is an association of more than 560 landmark hotels and restaurants operated by independent innkeepers, chefs, and owners who share a passion for their businesses and a desire for authenticity in their relationships with their clientele. Relais & Châteaux is established around the globe, from the Napa Valley vineyards and French Provence to the beaches of the Indian Ocean. It offers an introduction to a lifestyle inspired by local culture and a unique dip into human history. Relais & Châteaux members have a driving desire to protect and promote the richness and diversity of the world’s cuisine and traditions of hospitality. They are committed to preserving local heritage and the environment, as encompassed in the Charter presented to UNESCO in November 2014. www.relaischateaux.com / @relaischateaux / Press contacts Communication Director – Isabelle Mical[email protected] +33610564055 Press Director – Marine Boyer: [email protected]  +33 1 58 18 60 22 / +33 7 89 76 36 79

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