Andean Gastronomy Takes the Stage at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto

A delegation of about 100 people from the Andean region is set to take part in the most important international event dedicated to food culture.

Organized by Slow Food in collaboration with the Region of Piedmont and the City of Turin, the 12^th edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto will be held from September 20 to 24, 2018, in Turin, Italy. Over 5,000 delegates from 140 countries, over 800 exhibitors, 300 Slow Food Presidia, and 500 Terra Madre food communities are taking part in the event.

The Slow Food delegation from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perù, and Venezuela includes producers, academics, chefs, activists, members of the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN), and a considerable number of representatives of the indigenous communities who will be involved in the Terra Madre Arena where the Indigenous Terra Madre network will highlight the urgent need to promote and protect the food-production systems of these cultures. Esteban Raymundo Tapia Merino, chef and Slow Food International Councillor for the Andean Area, will also attend the event. On Terra Madre Salone del Gusto he says, “I am extremely proud to be part of the international network that is Slow Food, and to represent a delegation that will take part in Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2018. Food for change is the theme of this 12th edition and I am sure that, through the exchange of ideas and dialogue with people who differ in culture, language, and customs, every one of us will return home richer and with new enthusiasm to strive for a better future for our planet.”

Within the International Market, located in the Lingotto Fiere and Oval, the food biodiversity of Andean countries will be showcased in all its richness in a dedicated area. From Ecuador, the public will get to taste and buy various fruit jams, presented by the producer Maria Rosa Camacho Chiriboga, as well as Mashpi artisanal chocolate from the Ecuadorian Choco Bioregion (soon to be a Presidium), made from the renowned Arriba cacao beans, one of Ecuador’s most distinguished crops. Producers from the Asociación Campesina de Inzá Tierradientro (ACIT) will bring Colombian panela, a product derived from sugar cane and, used as natural sweetener. Panela will be featured during the Terra Madre Forum Alternative Sweets (September 23 at 4:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere) as a healthy alternative for sweetening recipes. Also from Colombia, the public will taste Vermeladas, fruit and vegetable jams made by Yurany Lopez, local coordinator of the Bogotá Earth Market. The list of products from Perù is very rich, and includes: the Amazonian nut (or Brazil nut), a 70% dark chocolate from Pangoa, yellow and red chili peppers called ají, and Heritage Huaylas Lupin Varieties, a Slow Food Presidium. Lupin will be the protagonist of the Taste Workshop Like Two Lupins in a Pod! (September 21 at 4:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere) during which the Italian Vairano Giant Lupin Bean will be presented together with the Peruvian varieties. Representing Bolivia, the public will find black amaranth, quinoa, almonds bars, and Melipona honey.

The International Market will also host the Terra Madre Kitchens, which will bring the best of world gastronomy together in one venue. Chefs from four continents will prepare authentic dishes, using products from their home countries. From Colombia, the Raizal traditional chef and community leader Rosilia Henry from Providencia Island, together with Antonuela Ariza, coordinator of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance in Colombia, will prepare rondón, a typical soup from the San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina Archipelago. Esteban Raymundo Tapia Merino, together with the young chef Cristian Arroba, will prepare one of the most typical Ecuadorian dishes, el seco de chivo, accompanied by quinoa. Venezuelan arepas will be prepared by the under 30 Carlos Arbel Sosa and Martha Bahamonde. From Bolivia, chef Roger Orlando Maldonado will cook red and black quinoa phizara with braised chives and fresh cheese.

Cacao is an important product throughout the Andean region, and during Terra Madre Salone del Gusto it will be featured in the Cacao Camp, an area dedicated to the cacao and chocolate industry that will involve international guests, producers and Slow Food delegates who, together with the founder of Domori Gianluca Franzoni, will explore the world of cacao in depth. Five seminars a day and several workshops will alternate in this area: Ecuadorian National Cacao of Choco – Mashpi Artisanal Chocolate will be among the proposals. From Venezuela, Marjorie Sosa Iglesias will represent two associations of cacao producers, Microempresa Cacao’s Cata and Asociación de Maestros Chocolateros. Colombian delegates will present the myriad ways to combine three emblematic products of the Colombian gastronomy, cacao, panela, and coffee.

Many delegates from the Andean area will be involved in the Slow Fish thematic area and will join the Terra Madre Forum focused on the Slow Fish Caribe project (September 21 at 2:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), financed by the European Union. Slow Fish Caribe was launched in 2017 to promote the conservation of biodiversity in Caribbean coastal ecosystems and coral reefs, consolidating good practices for the sustainable use of food resources in Biosphere Reserves in Colombia and Mexico. The partners of the project – Activos Culturales Afro Foundation (ACUA), Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina (CORALINA), Amigos de Sian Ka’an and Colectividad Razonatura – will attend the event and join the forums within the Slow Fish thematic area.

Patricia Caicedo, afrodescendant from the Luna Creciente organization, will come to Turin as a representative of the Esmeraldas region in Ecuador, where Slow Food and IFAD are working to protect the Esmeraldas blue crab. Patricia will also join the Terra Madre Forum Mangroves and the Problem of Shrimp Farming (September 21 at 4:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere).  Ten Colombian delegates will be closely involved in the Slow Fish thematic area and will participate in many of the Terra Madre Forums held there. Stephanie Howard Martinez, a member of the Raizal people and of Asocrab (Providence Sweet Black Crab Association) will represent the Providencia Black Crab Slow Food Presidium.

Zoila Lozano will come to Turin as a representative of the Chaski Warmikuna community, an indigenous women’s community in Saraguro, Ecuador. Zoila will take part in the Terra Madre Forum Seed Biodiversity as a Response to Climate Change (September 23 at 11:00 a.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), bringing her community’s experience to the important fight to conserve seed diversity.

Marjorie Sosa Iglesias will take part in the Terra Madre Forum Shortening the Supply Chain (September 21 at 4:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere) together with Carlos Arbel Sosa, highlighting their experience in the Mano a Mano Market, a space for direct cooperation between consumers and producers for the exchange of agro-ecological products in Merida, Venezuela.

Olga Evelyn Domené De Pastran from the Venezuelan Convivium Agroecólogos en Acción will participate in the Terra Madre Forum Food as Responses to Crisis (September 23 at 3:30 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), during which examples of rural communities able to resist and to start again, even in the most critical situations, will be discussed.

Many academics will also participate in Terra Madre Salone del Gusto: From Colombia, delegates from Universidad de La Salle, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, and Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA de Cali) will be involved in the Diffused University program, organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Rafael Villota, former director of Culinary Arts, will represent Ecuador’s Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

Three Slow Food Galapagos delegates will be involved in the Slow Food Travel area.

Taste Workshops and Cooking Schools are paid events and can be purchased online; the Terra Madre thematic Forums are presented by delegates of the network and are open to the public as long as seats are available. Click here for the list of available events, which is constantly updated.

Esteban Raymundo Tapia Merino – International Councillor for Andean Area

[email protected]

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2018 Press Office

Slow Food, +39 329 83 212 85 [email protected]

Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

Region of Piedmont, +39 011 432 2549 – [email protected]

City of Turin, +39 011 011 21976 – +39 342 1100131 – [email protected]

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Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is an event organized by the City of Turin, Slow Food, and the Region of Piedmont in collaboration with MIPAAF (Italy’s Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies). It has been made possible thanks to its many sponsors, including the Official Partners, GLEvents-Lingotto Fiere, IREN, Lavazza, Lurisia, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pastificio Di Martino and Quality Beer Academy; with the support of Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Associazione delle Fondazioni di Origine Bancaria del Piemonte, and Coldiretti; and with the contribution of IFAD, the European Union, and CIA (Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori).

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.