Slow Food

[docsconz]

Marco, it seems that your cuisine and cooking is the epitome of that espoused by the Slow Food Movement. Do you agree and what do you see as the future of that movement in the United States and the world?

[Marco Canora]

I am a huge fan of slow foods, and the menu at Hearth definitely reflects my admiration for the movement. Every item that we serve is made on the premises; we do not buy anything that is pre-made.

But as much as I embrace the movement and encourage others to do the same, I realize that in not every body can afford to. The movement encourages people to stop eating at fast food restaurants where the food has little or no nutritional value and to cook at home instead. While this may sound appealing in theory, I think it is unrealistic to expect people who have been working long hours to keep clothes on their children's backs to come home with raw ingredients and spend an hour preparing a meal for their entire family. When faced with the option of going to the store and buying a tomato, onion, lettuce, and ground meat so you can go home and make tacos or taking your kids to Taco Bell where the tacos cost 59 cents each, I think most people are going to choose the latter, simply because it is more cost effective and convenient. And you really can't blame them, can you? The fact of the matter is that there are harsh realities that make this movement seem a little idealistic. But of course, the ideals that the slow foods folks support are ones that I would be ectastic to see become a reality.

I will say that, to its credit, the movement seems to be having an effect as large fast-food chains are offering more healthy options to their customers. While this may not be exactly what the slow foods people were hoping for, I think it's a step in the right direction.

[magnolia]

I also applaud the slow food movement but reading their literature, I am somewhat concerned about their quasi-political tendencies - sometimes I think of them as the "right wing of food". What macro-effect do you think movements like this have on the ability of modern chefs/home cooks/food "producers" to be creative, innovative, etc.?

(There I go, asking a political question about food, when that's exactly what I expessed concern about...)

[Marco Canora]

While I understand that the slow foods movement can be seen as a conservative movement, which tries to preserve certain values and resist change, I think that ultimately it is raising awareness about some of the scary practices of fast food restaurant chains in a very positive way. I also think that there is nothing standing in the way of chefs who want to be creative and innovative. The movement, if anything, seems more inspirational than restrictive to me.

[docsconz]

Conservation is certainly a major aspect of the Slow Food Movement, however, the movement is not opposed to creativity in the least. While conserving traditional foods and methods is vital, even more so is the conservation of variety and quality. As such, creativity is welcomed and applauded. The problems with "modern" food production according to Slow Food is just that many "modern" techniques, such as genetic modification and ubiquitous fast food erode or annhilate those values of variety and quality.