Local celebrity chefs were busy chopping, searing and plating on Saturday to celebrate Slow Food’s annual Terra Madre Day at Station 20 West.
“Slow Food is an international movement and organization that was founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini in Italy after the first McDonald’s opened in Rome in 1986,” Noelle Chorney, Slow Food Saskatoon’s leader from Station 20 West, explained.
“He was upset about how their local food traditions were being undermined by globalization and fast food production.”
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The event was open to the public with entrance by way of donation. It’s meant to bring everyone back to their local roots, so to speak.
“I believe in connecting to the food you eat and understanding what goes into our mouths. It affects the world around us,” Chorney said.
“People around the world are encouraged to host an event on this day. It can be as simple as hosting a local food meal at your home or having chefs get together for a cooking competition using local foods,” she added.
The chefs were using local ingredients supplied by the CHEP Good Food box program and five secret ingredients of their choosing.
“It’s a great way to bring together local farmers, local produce, and celebrity chefs. We wanted it to be open to the public so they can have a sample of what these foods are about,” CHEP executive director Yvonne Hanson explained.
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CHEP Good Food creates bi-weekly boxes of local produce, which are priced for accessibility.
“CHEP has a strong mandate to support access to healthy food and promote food security in Saskatoon and surrounding area,” Hanson said.
“We know from doing price checks with grocery stores that those boxes are probably 40 per cent cheaper than what you’d pay at a grocery store.”