Come and celebrate Terra Madre Day with us, on Thursday 10th December  at Crown Street Public School.

Slow Food Sydney is celebrating Terra Madre Day at Historic Crown Street Public School where our first Edible School Garden was planted.  We are also celebrating SLOW FOOD’s 20th birthday!
We are following in the tradition of Slow Food and “eating locally” …….. so bring a simple dish made from local produce or bought locally to join in our shared table.

Chef Alex Herbert from Bird Cow Fish Restaurant in Crown Street will share with us her experience of Terra Madre and what it meant to participate in the coming together of chefs, producers, academics and other Slow Food delegates from around the world at Terra Madre in Bra, Italy.

There’ll be a raffle with a great selection of prizes, a tour of the Slow Food Edible Garden and of course a chance to mix and mingle with like-minded people who believe in saving the planet, one mouthful at a time.

When: Thursday 10th December,  6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: The Canteen, Crown Street Public School, 356Crown Street,  Surry Hills
Cost: $10 (or more) donation for Edible Garden Projects, Terra Madre and Crown Street Public School
BYO  drinks & a dish to share
RSVP  info@slowfoodsydney.com.au

“SLOW Food is launching Terra Madre Day around the world, to be held for the first time on 10 December this year. Slow Food convivia, Terra Madre food communities and all people supportive of our ideals are invited to organise an event, however small or symbolic, in your local area. By taking this opportunity with passion and inclusiveness, we can achieve one of the largest collective occasions celebrating food diversity ever achieved on a global scale. A global revolution can only grow from local roots, and together our community actions will help build opposition to the misguided approach of agribusiness. We invite you to let loose your creativity and make December 10 a memorable day, encouraging and supporting sustainable food in your corner of the world. It will give us all a boost and renewed pride in what we are doing locally, while knowing that we are part of a world network for change.”

Carlo Petrini
International president and founder
Slow Food

by John Newton

Slow Sydney held their Annual General Meeting in a friendly – and apposite – environment, the NG gallery in a 19th Century Gothic Revival building in the pint-sized inner city suburb of Chippendale.

Upstairs, where the meeting was held, is the gallery, run by Nicky Ginsberg. Downstairs, where we ate later is the very fine Mission restaurant run by Piera Potter, a big thank you to them both for their combined efforts.

As  I said, holding the 2009 AGM in a gothic Revival building was apposite: we witnessed a most satisfying revival of interest in Slow Food: I don’t know how many were there, but we had two rows around the table and many who couldn’t fit.

Of course Carlo Petrini’s visited had piqued interest in Slow, but there was another mood in the room: Sydney people want to take control of their food supply, and they’re in line with the new mood of political activism generated both at a local Convivium level, and in Bra.

A new committee was elected (see below), containing many talented and fresh faces, the marketing plan was outlined, and discussion centred on what should be our major objectives for the coming year.

Business finished it was downstairs for the convivial part of the evening, with Piera and her team providing fine food and wine.

If this AGM is anything to go by, Twenty Ten should be a landmark year for Slow Food Sydney.

COMMITTEE

Convivium Leader:  Syd Pemberton

Treasurer:    Peter Kenyon

Membership Services: Marco Cocurullo

Edible Schoolyard Programme: Syd Pemberton and Jo Gardiner

Newsletter:  Alexis Smith

Website:   Valeria Simcic

Public Relations: Lisa Cowan

Secretary:   Phee Gardner

Marketing:   Yvonne Grant

Food Issues lobbyist: John Newton

Events:    Syd Pemberton

Youth Co-coordinator:  Oday Kamal

Slow Food Guide:   Peter Kenyon/John Newton

The following members offered support on important Slow Food Issues -

Ark of Taste:   Cherry Ripe

Sydney Farmers Action: Michael Champion

Terra Madre Ambassadors for 2010: Alex Herbert, Michael Champion, Aunty Beryl

Volunteer Co-ordinator: Yvonne Grant

The Annual General Meeting of Slow Food Sydney will take place on Tuesday 10th November at 6.30 pm (sharp) upstairs in the NG Art Gallery, 3 Little Queen Street Chippendale.

The AGM is for financial members only and it’s free.

It is vital for all members to hear at first hand the new direction of Slow Food International and in particular, Slow Food Sydney.

This is going to a very exciting year for Slow Food Sydney and we want you to be part of it!!
We will be calling for nominations for all the positions on the committee. We particularly need people with IT experience, minute taking skills, membership services and database, book-keeping skills. We are also looking for helpers with our Edible Kitchen Garden Schools program and with our various events.
Please email your interest before the meeting to Syd Pemberton, Convivium Leader - sydpemberton@gmail.com, by November 8.

After the meeting, stay for dinner at Mission Restaurant and Bar, below the Art Gallery, Ground Level, 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (ph: 9318 0815)
There will be a two course dinner from their delicious seasonal menu.
Cost: $56.00 per head (limited numbers)
Complimentary glass of wine at the AGM meeting (additional wine to be paid for separately)

Payment through Slow Food Sydney AGM.eventbrite.com or with cheques made payable to Slow Food Sydney and posted to Slow Food Sydney, 8 Eden Ave, North Turramurra, 2074 NSW.

Here you can find more photos of the Bush Tucker Picnic.

Slow Food Sydney wants to thank all the volunteers, members, friends and families.
A special thanks to all the sponsors who made this event possible:

- Belinda Franks Catering for equipment and support;
- Australian Kangaroo Industry Association;
- Australian Macadamia Org;
- Brasserie Bread – for creating a special Indigenous bread and supporting us;
- Frou Frou Native Bush Cordials;
- Ecolifestyle bamboo plates;
-  Party Time Hire Company.

Rain didn’t stop slow foodies last Sunday. Regardless of weather, more than 200 people gathered in the Royal Botanic Gardens to take part in the Bush Tucker Picnic.

Sitting on colored rugs, under the shelter of a big tree, the crowd had the opportunity to enjoy a special menu designed for the event by multi-award-winning chef Jean-Paul Bruneteau, author of Tukka, Real Australian Food. With the help of Chef Samantha Joel, he cooked a three courses meal using Indigenous ingredients:

• Emu Prosciutto Antipasto Smoked Emu rubbed with lemon myrtle and pepper leaf served with Australian olives and coz lettuce drizzled with lemon myrtle mayonnaise dressing, and scattered with garlic croûtons roasted with a hint of Aniseed myrtle.
• Slow Roo Torpedo Roll with bush tomato onion relish and crisp salad leaves. The gourmet sausage and sour dough bread with wattle seed crust have been specially created for the picnic.
• Rocky Road trifle with native-flavoured marshmallow, macadamia nut brittle, quandongs, Davidson plum jelly and wattle seed liqueur

After the lunch, Clarence Slockee, Aboriginal Education Officer of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, spoke about Indigenous knowledge and use of bush foods focusing particularly on some of the ingredients used in the picnic.

Carlo Petrini himself, founder and international president of Slow Food, was present at the Picnic, to greet SF member and volunteers and taste the real Australian native flavours.
Holding hands with Aunty Beryl Van Oploo, an Aboriginal Elder who was one of the Australian delegates at Terra Madre 2008, he spoke passionately about the values of his movement. Terra Madre , he said, is a network made up of farmers, fishermen, breeders who really care about a new food culture and safeguarding the environment. “These humble people are the very ones who can save us in this moment of crisis. The word ‘humble’ (‘umile’ in Italian) derives from the Latin word ‘humus’ – ‘of the earth’ – and we want to support and be close to them”.

“We have to change the logic of consumerism” Petrini said.”We are strong and if we all work together we can really make this change. We can support farmers’ markets. We can defend food and build school gardens. We can create and support communities and work with them. Ask for more information so that we can learn where food comes from and how it is made. In this way, we’ll be able to give value back to food”.