Austrian Gastronomy Takes the Stage at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto

 A delegation of about 30 people is set to take part in the most important international event dedicated to food culture and tradition.

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

Slow Food Austria’s delegation will include family farmers, producers, chefs, academics, students, and institutional representatives. Philipp Braun, Slow Food International Councillor for Austria, will be in Turin as well. Speaking about Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, Philipp 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 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.”

Since 2015, Slow Food Austria and Kärnten Werbung have been working on the Slow Food Travel Alpe Adria Kärnten project thanks to which the Gail Valley and Lesachtal Valley in Carinthia have now become the world’s first Slow Food Travel Destination, offering a new model for tourism, based on meetings and exchanges with the farmers, cheesemakers, herders, butchers, bakers, and winegrowers who are the narrators of this southernmost Austrian region. More recently, the Gut Sauber und Fair project has been launched, within which the Slow Food Villages project is being developed. At the same time, the Gut Sauber und Fair project is involving students from local agrarian high schools in educational activities. Some of these students will attend Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. During the 5-day event, part of the Austrian delegation will be involved in the Terra Madre Forums Slow Food Travel – Travelling According to Slow Food (September 21 at 10:30 a.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), and Villages Standing Strong Against Depopulation (September 22 at 1:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), during which the example of the Irschen village, which has been recognized as the first Slow Food Village in Austria, will be presented by delegates of the network.

Within the International Market, located in the Lingotto Fiere and Oval, typical products from Carinthia will be available for the public to taste and buy, such as Gaital speck and white maize, bread from Lesachtal, and beer produced by the artisanal brewery Loncium. Among the exhibitors will be the Thum Schinken Viennese ham and Obsthof Retter organic fruit products.

Finally, here is a list of events in which delegates from Slow Food Austria will be involved:

The mountain guide Sepp Brandstätter will take part in the Taste Workshop Austria’s 1,001 Uses for Corn – Slow Mays (September 21 at 7:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere) presenting Gailtal white maize, a local Austrian variety, free from genetic manipulation, that  is grown in Würmlach on his estate.

Dr. Georg Lexer and producer Andrea Unterguggenberger will conduct the Taste Workshop Austria: The Taste of Carinthia (September 20 at 6:00 p.m. – Torino Lingotto Fiere), presenting a book recently written by Georg about Carinthia’s cuisine and products. During the event the public will taste Brillenshaf sheep meat (Slow Food Presidium), cheese produced from hay milk, and naturally leavened bread from Lesachtal, with hay milk butter.

The National Mountain Museum will host Gottfried Bachler, a chef from the Slow Food network in Carinthia and coordinator of the Gut Sauber und Fair project, who will creatively combine the mountain and hill products of small-scale farmers and breeders to develop contrasts and harmonious encounters for those attending the Dinner Date Gottfried Bachler From Carinthia at Museo Della Montagna (September 21 at 7:00 p.m. – The conference beforehand is organized at Piazzale Monte dei Cappuccini, 7 – Dinner is held at Monte dei Cappuccini Restaurant, Salita al CAI Torino, 12). Sommelier Ingried Bachler will talk about the wines and beers combined with the dishes.

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.

Philipp Braun – International Councillor for Austria

[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]

To request press accreditation, please click here.

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.