Thanks to the collaboration between the Catering Unit of the European Parliament and Slow Food, this spring Slow Food will be showcasing food biodiversity in a setting as of yet unexplored: the self-service restaurant of the European Parliament in Brussels. For three months Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and staff of the Institution will get a taste of food biodiversity.
To tease taste buds and give food for thought, a Slow Food dish will be served once a week in the self-service restaurant of the European Parliament, which serves an average of 2,500 portions a day in Brussels. The dishes will be prepared mainly using local, seasonal and responsibly farmed products (for example as recognized by the BIO or the Belgian Streekproduct labels), to give a flavor of local food biodiversity.
A meeting has been held between chefs of the Slow Food network and of the Institution to discuss both the approach to the dishes and the details of their preparation. A small snail symbol will distinguish the Slow Food dish on the menu and the restaurant will display the sources of the ingredients to give visibility
As if the Slow Food dishes were not enough, three tasting sessions of Ark of Taste products will be held in the Institution to discover unique food products that are at risk of disappearance. Raw milk cheeses, cereals, fruits, honeys and cured meats from across Europe will be offered for tasting to Members and staff. What’s more, an Ark of Taste producer will be present during each event to explain why and how biodiversity is the key to ensuring access to good, clean and fair food.
To mark the launch of the collaboration, a photo exhibition on food biodiversity will be displayed for a week in front of the self-service restaurant of the Institution. The message: By starting with biodiversity, we can feed the planet.
Note: the collaboration addresses members of the European Parliament, their assistants and all employees of the institution and is closed to the general public.