San Francisco celebrates Slow Food

Slow Food Nation has announced the line-up for 23 Taste Workshops, one-hour in-depth taste experiences led by passionate artisans guiding students of Slow Food in the complexity and delight of good, clean and fair food. The Taste Workshops will be held on Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31, during Slow Food Nation at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

They coincide with Taste, Slow Food Nation’s grand celebration of food in America, being held in the Festival Pavilion of Fort Mason Center. Tickets to the Taste Workshops are on sale now at slowfoodnation.org.

An unprecedented event, Slow Food Nation will bring together tens of thousands to experience an extraordinary range of activities highlighting the connection between plate and planet. Taste and the Taste Workshops present an exceptional opportunity to sample the diversity of regional foods of America.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

10:00 - 11:00 am
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $10
Presidium Coffee Cupping
Andi Trindle leads a taste of freshly brewed, specialty coffees from Guatemala and Santo Domingo while two growers discuss the challenges and efforts to support sustainable coffee growing. Learn how Slow Food Presidia are helping to protect and find markets for specialty coffees and how different roasting techniques enhance aromas and flavors.

10:00 - 11:00 am
Throw a “Slowtail” Party for 6 Friends for Under $60
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $10
Whole Foods Market Chef Instructor Josh Hanoka will teach you how to throw a legendary, but seriously affordable, party of delicious artisan tastes and sips, including champagne fruit cocktails and four locally-inspired appetizers.

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
The Apple in the Pig's Mouth
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Taste artisanal ciders from around the country with three different varieties of prosciutto from Iowa's La Quercia as we work to develop a lexicon of flavors in each. Panelists include noted author and apple expert Ben Watson, and La Quercia owner and prosciutto maker Herb Eckhouse. Moderated by chef and food writer Kurt Michael Friese.

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Rare Flavors of the South
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Andrea Reusing, Chef and Owner of Lantern Restaurant in Chapel Hill, and Phoebe Lawless, Chef and Owner of Scratch Artisan Baking in Durham, North Carolina, present a tasting menu of flavors steeped in Southern history: shrimp with green tomatoes and ramps, souse and corned ham, Gullah-style Reezy Peezy, cornbread with homemade buttermilk and sorghum and more.

2:00 - 3:00 pm
Tasting California Olive Oil
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $10
Learn how to taste olive oil like an expert. Nancy Ash, California Olive Oil Council Taste Panel Leader and owner of Strictly Olive Oil, will guide a tasting of extra virgin olive oils, provide an overview on industry issues and describe what exactly extra virgin olive oil means.

2:00 - 3:00 pm
American Artisan Cheeses and Microbrews
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Matt Jennings of Farmstead, Inc. will introduce some of America’s premier artisan cheesemakers and microbrewers, through a tasting of their exemplary products. For the past 20 years, handa-crafted wheels of cheese and vats of microbrews have been feeding America’s food revolution.

4:00 - 5:00 pm
Bounty from the Midwest
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Grace Singleton of Zingerman’s will introduce Midwestern regional foods produced in Michigan, the second-largest agricultural producing state in the U.S. Delicacies will include Tracklement’s smoked fish, Zingerman Creamery and Bakehouse items, Ark-of-Taste Paw Paws and a selection of hearty local brews. Also on site: Kim Bayer of Slow Food and Edible WOW, Chef Nick Seccia and Susan Schmidt of the Henry Ford Museum and Zingerman’s Gauri Thergaonkar.

4:00 - 5:00 pm
Heritage Pork and Sparkling Mead
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
The Ossabaw Island hog, descended from Iberian hogs left by the Spaniards off the coast of Georgia in the 1500s, was on the verge of extinction until Eliza MacLean began a conservation and breeding program. Paired with Heidrun Meadery’s Sparkling Mead, by Gordon Hull in Arcata California, this is sure to be a succulent tasting. Join Chef Joe Bonaparte of the International Culinary Schools, Eliza MacLean and Gordon Hull for this delicious workshop.

6:00 - 7:00 pm
Slow Wine & Food Pairings
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Join La Jota Vineyards in a slow sip of bold appellation reds paired with some of the finest regional slow foods.

6:00 - 7:00 pm
Sustainable Stories: Associations of Wine and Food
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Christopher Howell, General Manager and Winemaker at Cain Vineyard & Winery will lead a discussion while participants sip stupendous wines, nibble on an enticing selection of sustainably-produced Napa valley foods and gain insights on how associations of people, wine, and food create the most satisfying combinations.

8:00 - 9:00 pm
Coro Mendocino Wines & Organic Cheeses
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
A unique tasting of a Mendocino winemakers’ collaboration to create a class of distinctive wines that belong to the rich heritage, spectrum of terroir and unique characteristics of varietals with a long history in Mendocino County. 2005 Coro Mendocino Wines will be paired with Elk Creamery organic cheeses, highlighting the aromas and flavors gleaned from this region.

8:00 - 9:00 pm
Celebrating American Raw Milk Cheese
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
With a focus on the American Raw Milk Cheese Association, one of Slow Food USA’s first Presidia initiatives, we explore the differences between raw and pasteurized milk cheeses, some of the controversy surrounding these products and the growing array of unique tastes. Beyond wonderful cheddar, we find dozens of aged cow, goat and sheep cheese to whet our appetite. The six-cheese tasting is paired with American craft beers.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

10:00 - 11:00 am
Exploring Coffee and Chocolate Pairings
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $10
Explore the possibilities and pitfalls of pairing coffee and chocolate while hearing about the commonalities in their post-harvest processing and colonial legacies. Join James Freeman from Blue Bottle Coffee and Seneca Klassen from Bittersweet Cafe as they dig into two of the world's favorite stimulants.

10:00 - 11:00 am
Slow Food Meals on a Budget
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $10
Living the slow food lifestyle doesn’t require selling the family farm. Join Whole Foods Market value experts as they share tricks for maximizing your shopping dollars as you maximize your eating pleasure. Chef Instructor Josh Hanoka will present a four course meal for four people for under $50 and show you how to save on the best local foods. With insider tips and scrumptious recipes, you’ll learn how to make every day a celebration of food, shared meals and healthy wallets.

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Fermented Delicacies
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $10
Food doesn't get much slower than fermentation. In this workshop Sandor Katz of Wild Fermentation, and author of The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, will offer a broad survey of the exciting flavors of fermented delicacies enjoyed by cultures around the world. Learn about the healing qualities and nutritional importance of fermentation, as well as its illustrious history and integral role in human cultural evolution.

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Northwestern Sips & Morsels
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Rainforests, oceans chilled by arctic currents, protected valleys, open plains and the mountains of the Pacific Northwest serve up a platter of unique regional foods paired with libations from skilled craftsmen in this workshop led by Greene Lawson, owner of HotLips Pizza and Soda in Portland, Oregon.

2:00 - 3:00 pm
Mendocino Pinot Noir
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Classic old- and new- world-style Pinot Noir from Mendocino County will be introduced in a horizontal tasting of same vintage year. The workshop will explore Mendocino County AVA’s and microclimates of the geographically diverse county. Pinot Noirs from the cool climate Anderson Valley and warmer climates such as the Russian River, Redwood and Potter Valleys will be tasted and compared while discussing the effects of soil, topography and climate on the finished wines.

2:00 - 3:00 pm
Heirloom Tomatoes with Wines from Lodi
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Swirl, sniff and sample wineglasses filled with brilliantly hued heirloom tomato chunks in this extraordinary workshop. Ann Noble, creator of the Wine Aroma Wheel, and Professor Emerita, U.C. Davis Enology Department, will lead a tasting of Yolo County-grown heirloom tomatoes. Paired with wines from Lodi, participants will decide which wines go best with tomatoes.

4:00 - 5:00 pm
A Traditional Taste of Southwest Heritage Foods
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
Join chef and author John Sharpe and Southwest Regional Slow Food Governor Pamela Hamilton on a taste journey through Southwestern heritage foods featuring Presidium churro lamb, piki bread with Hopi hummus and chiltepine salsa. Sample hand-selected foods such as tepary beans, dry-roasted and blue corn, and chiles from Arizona and New Mexico.

4:00 - 5:00 pm
Eat It to Save It, Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Join Slow Food’s Ark of Taste co-chair Poppy Tooker to taste some of the most delicious and endangered food of the U.S. and meet the people who work to rescue and promote them: hand- harvested and parched “manoomin” or wild rice with Winona LaDuke; Sun Crest peaches with Mas and Nikiko Masumoto; Guinea and Mulefoot heritage hogs with Arie McFarlen; Ark vegetables and fruits with Alyssa Jumars of Dunbar Farms and Geoducks; and Olympia Oysters with Bill Whitbeck from Taylor Shellfish Farms.

6:00 - 7:00 pm
Slow Sips & Charcuterie Snacking
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Sam Edwards of Surry, Virginia, Kenneth Rochford of Medlock Ames, and Mark Pastore co-owner of Incanto and Boccalone share their stories. You’ll snack on a sumptuous array of sandwiches layered thick with charcuterie and artisan pickled delights while slowly studying the piquancy of organic, sustainable wines.

6:00 - 7:00 pm
Biodynamic Wines
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 362 (45 People Maximum); $20
A tasting and discussion of wine from the leaders in biodynamic wine movement.

8:00 - 9:00 pm
Slow Spirits
Fort Mason, Bldg C, Room 370 (60 People Maximum); $20
Join Allen Katz, master mixologist and Chairman of the Slow Food USA Board of Directors, Greg Lingren, Proprietor of Rye Bar and H. Joseph Herman, Proprietor of Elixir, for a tasty and enlightening exploration of sustainable spirits and cocktails. While sipping creations from artisan spirits producers such as Prairie Organic Vodka, they’ll discuss sustainability in distillation and the exciting use of local, seasonal ingredients in the creation of mouth-watering cocktails.

Slow Food Nation is a subsidiary non-profit of Slow Food USA and part of the international Slow Food movement. It was created to organize the first-ever American collaborative gathering to unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair through enjoyable, accessible and educational activities. Slow Food Nation is dedicated to creating a framework for deeper environmental connection to our food and aims to inspire and empower Americans to build a food system that is sustainable, healthy and delicious.

For more information, visit Slowfoodnation.org.