Christmas comes…again

 It took the Slow Food snail an extra month to arrive.

The storm delayed Christmas party took place yesterday at Chives for over 60 members and guests. A raised snail resting atop chef Craig Flinn’s famous chicken pies welcomed everyone to a feast of hot and cold dishes. It was all prepared by the Chives team augmented by dishes from 5 other Slow Food restaurants and wineries. Each dish was labeled with the ingredients and names of the local suppliers.

Resolution no. 158

Slow Food Nova Scotia was recently honoured by the Nova Scotia Legislature in a resolution welcoming the news that the Gravenstein apple has been placed on the Canadian Ark of Taste.

After extolling the virtues of this heritage apple and praising the work of Slow Food in promoting local products, the Resolution concludes, “..all members of this House of Assembly acknowledge the tremendous work undertaken by the Nova Scotia Chapter of Slow Food Canada and wish them continued success with all future projects.”

Thanks to Hants West MLA, Chuck Porter for bringing this to the House.

Sustainable Shrimp

Another great choice for consumers seeking local sustainable seafood.

The Ecology Action Centre today announced a plan to bring trap caught shrimp to the marketplace.
Caught in traps much like lobster, the shrimp is usually larger than those caught by draggers and much more sustainable.
The shrimp is from Chedabucto Bay off Canso and will be sold through Fisherman’s Market on the Bedford Highway and will be on the menu of selected restaurants. Ask your server where your shrimp comes from.

Congratulations to Susanna Fuller, the EAC’s marine coordinator and a Slow Food member. The EAC people, including Anna Magera (another Slow Food member) and Sadie Beaton have been working very hard this year to tell consumers about local, high quality, sustainable seafood.

UPDATE: spoke to Fred Greene, the president of Fisherman’s Market…he said the plan for now is to provide the shrimp to restaurants to see what the chefs will do with them and judge what kind of public response there is..

The shrimp will not be available to the consumer at the moment although Pete’s Frootique is going to have some. The restaurants that will serve them include: Fid, Wooden Monkey, Chives and Jane’s on the Common in Halifax and Tempest in Wolfville.

Aw shucks, it’s a ShanDaph

In the world of food branding, Philip Docker has grasped a simple principle…real food comes from real people.

Within minutes of meeting Philip Docker you just know his product is going to be good. His commitment, passion, energy and high standards are readily evident and fully confirmed with the first taste of a ShanDaph oyster.
These are not just oysters from the Big Island coves between New Glasgow and Antigonish. These are oysters from Philip Docker.

Cheese Grilled

When the world gives you too much milk, you make cheese.

That would appear to be the lesson for smart dairy farmers who want to make more money. They have a lot of smart farmers in Quebec.

On a recent visit to Quebec City it was possible to sample many local varieties, textures, animal sources and pungencies – many at a high level of craftsmanship. Quebec even has a map of cheese routes in the province that will lead you on day trips to all the artisan producers where you can taste and purchase cheese right at the farm.

And even with all this great cheese, Quebec consumers and food writers are demanding even higher standards and more consistent quality.

And what standards are consumers demanding in Nova Scotia? And where are the smart dairy farmers who want to make more money with value added products? And who is the champion in the bureaucracy who will open doors and cut red tape for farmers who want to create artisan cheese?

While we’re waiting for those answers, give a listen to Michael Howell’s contribution (featuring a great artisan cheese from Nova Scotia) to a podcast sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Sustainable Seafood?

Expecting a list of infallible rules for what to eat from the sea? There isn’t one.

Lots of guides though and lots of contradictions you have to sort through to arrive at a personal approach to sustainable seafood. That was the focus this weekend as we looked at three seafood contexts that allowed everyone to ask questions and form an opinion and an approach to what to eat from a dwindling ocean resource.

Local Label

Local food is clearly on the government agenda with the launch of the Select Nova Scotia campaign.

The short term marketing effort hopes to convince consumers to buy products produced by local farmers and Nova Scotia food companies.
Although taste and quality are not the prime concern of the campaign, putting money in local food producers pockets is a worthy cause. And, if it encourages people to shop at Farmers Markets, more of the small organic growers will also benefit from the exposure.

Check the website for additional details.

Feeling Blue

Most Slow Food events are about taste but this one was also about feeling.

A serene and peaceful feeling that comes with being in the country picking berries, chatting with old and new friends while focused on small patches of the earth in front of you. Trying to make your fingers nimble enough to pick clusters of blueberries without crushing them. It all added up to feeling blue, but in a Slow Food kind of way.

Tastes of the Valley

The Wolfville Farmer’s Market held its annual Tastes of the Valley celebration recently and Slow Food was there in force.

We paired with the South Shore bakery, Boulangerie la Vendeenne to promote the Slow Food Ark ingredient, Red Fife Wheat. We gave away samples of an organic bread made from the wheat and told people about how and where it is grown. And, several restaurants connected with Slow Food sold small tastes of food prepared from local ingredients and Market vendors.

What is Slow Food?

The Turner Broadcasting network has produced a story about Slow Food.

The video was shot mostly near Atlanta but it accurately portrays the concept and principles of Slow Food in a very engaging way. Have a look on this website.

And, thanks to Beth McMahon at ACORN for the heads up.