Slow Food Chefs Alliance in Scotland supports the Slow Food international campaign “Menu for Change”

Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance in Scotland is supporting the Slow Food International ‘Menu For Change’ campaign* drawing attention to the connection between food and climate change. Through a series of activities through October and November, chefs will be promoting locally-produced food, highlighting their nose-to-tail ‘less waste’ approach, and showcasing collaborations with local farmers and producers.

On 6^th November, the Chefs’ Alliance in Scotland will meet at the Kilted Lobster Restaurant in Edinburgh to discuss Sustainable Food Tourism with Scotland Food and Drink Project Manager, Fiona Richmond. The importance of the Ark of Taste project will be highlighted by Slow Food Ark of Taste Coordinator Wendy Barrie. In addition, issues on Climate Change and Food will be explored with Vivian Maeda, the Chefs’ Alliance Coordinator in Scotland and Janie Neumann from VisitScotland – Sustainability and Food in Scotland. Canapes made of local produce will be served on the evening, celebrating the Slow Food #50milemeal challenge.

In addition, Scottish Chefs’ Alliance members will also join the Slow Food local #50milemeal challenge, in which they have to cook a meal using local ingredients produced within 50 miles at least once a week.

Welcoming the efforts of local chefs, John Cooke, Slow Food Scotland leader, adds: “Supporting local food, the people who produce it and their communities is a real and delicious way we can all make a difference to the world’s climate crisis. We’re so happy that Scottish Chefs’ Alliance members are contributing to the international #menuforchange campaign on such a vital issue.”

The Chefs’ Alliance in the UK was formed in 2011 and is now an umbrella for talented chefs who support small producers, defend biodiversity and promote the ‘good, clean and fair’ philosophy. The legacy of the Alliance lies in its grassroots essence: chefs in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland constantly work together with their local groups to organize events, activities and campaigns – driving change in the way people see and choose their food.

The Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance is an international project which brings together more than 800 chefs from 20 different countries: Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the US. The Alliance is made up of chefs who have agreed a pact with Slow Food Presidia and Ark of Taste producers and all local producers who cultivate with respect for the concepts of good, clean and fair. The chefs are committed to adding the names of the producers they buy from to their menus, giving added importance and visibility to their work. The goal is to stimulate the creation of a circuit in the local economy, which helps find a market for these authentic products that are often ignored by large retailers.

* In October Slow Food launched the Menu For Change campaign, which highlights the relationship between food and climate change: starting from food, we can and must make a difference. Slow Food networks worldwide support and promote solutions for producing food while mitigating its impact on the climate by working to protect biodiversity, encourage food and environmental education, raise awareness among all actors and to try to influence politics at all levels.

For more information please contact:

Chefs’ Alliance Coordinator for Slow Food Scotland

Vivian Maeda: [email protected]

Slow Food International Press Office

Paola Nano, Giulia Capaldi

[email protected] – Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

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.