Report on Salone del gusto and Terra Madre 2006

TERRA MADRE 2006

8000 food producers and 1000 chefs got together for the second Slow Food 'Terra Madre' World Conference of Food last week in Turin. The conference discussed the difficulties faced in producing tasty, clean, fair and traditional food. Much emphasis was placed on elevating the role of 'customers' from the slightly derogatory term of 'consumers' to the partnership role of 'co-producers'.

I was lucky enough to lead the Cornwall delegation and our chosen Chef was Nick Barclay. Nick and I, were able to give an account of the great strides made over the last few years in Cornwall and Nick got a resounding round of applause for his Barclay House local food history.

I spoke on sustainable wine production and the progress of our Cornwall Slow Food convivium. In between the workshops, lectures and discussions we were able to visit the bewildering 'Salone del Gusto' with literally hundreds of stalls, many offering the chance to taste.

Best moment: Since the first Terra Madre in 2004 Annie has never bought a loaf of bread, but made one by hand every day. I mentioned this in passing in a talk and the hall gave Annie a round of applause. Brilliant!

Overriding impression: 'Cornwall is one of the EU's poorest regions. But England is one of the richest Countries in the world and of course that means that we're not a poor region at all in a global context. Compared to Eritrea, Bakino Faso (98% illiteracy) Cornwall is a paradise, but then we knew that already. Didn't we?

Bob Lindo
Camel Valley

Report Continued
Lindy Van Weile Report
Mithe Howell Report