Campagnolo Cooks Traditional Italian Recipes for Slow Food Vancouver Event

Credit: Michael Robertson

Campangnolo uses traditional recipes to raise money for Slow Food Vancouver

Eat, drink and be merry the slow food way at Campagnolo this weekend for Terra Madre fundraiser

Earlier this year I talked about Carrotmob as a way of doing good just by eating and drinking in certain places. This weekend (October 16) you can be part of the slow food movement by lunching at Campagnolo, named Vancouver Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant 2010″ and one of only two restaurants in Vancouver to make Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Hot Table.

Terra Madre 2010 or bust

Proceeds from the event will go toward sending local Slow Food delegates to Terra Madre, a global symposium on sustainable local food production. Terra Madre seminars focus on topics such as genetically modified foods (GM), the development of organic food, sustainability and the impact of globalization on traditional food cultures. Vancouver is, in many ways, a global leader in the sustainability movement, but it is very much a modern type of sustainability. Vancouver’s delegates will have an opportunity to not only share their knowledge but also be exposed to myriad traditional solutions to our issues.

The Slow Food movement began in Italy and has since expanded into 132 countries. Its focus is on the preservation of traditional regional cuisines made from scratch using the plants, seeds and livestock indigenous to a local ecosystem. Think the 100-Mile Diet meets Grandma’s kitchen.

Saturday’s lunch at Campagnolo’s

For Saturday’s luncheon, Campagnolo chef JC Poirier will prepare platters of traditional Italian dishes inspired by recipes from Jessica Theroux’s appropriately named book, Cooking With Italian Grandmothers.

The use of traditional recipes and practices pays homage to the knowledge, handed down from generation to generation, that stems from a sustainable, locally focused way of life. The tip of the iceberg in terms of what local delegates will be able to glean from other cultures’ traditions at Terra Madre. 

The lunch is also part of the “Slow Taste of Italy,” a week-long North American event where restaurants from New York to Vancouver host events celebrating slow, local, sustainable food.

Tickets for the event are priced at $98 per person or $148 per couple and include one copy of Cooking With Italian Grandmothers, wine and gratuity. Fifty percent of the book sale price is donated to the Terra Madre fund of Slow Food Vancouver and FarmFolkCityFolk.