While Slow Food is an international organisation Slow Food groups (called convivia) are very much local. The newly formed (late 2007) Tamborine Mountain Convivium is enthusiastic about promoting good food on the mountain.
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The Story of Slow Food
It all began in 1986 when McDonalds opened an outlet beside the iconic Spanish Steps in Rome. To many locals, this was one fast food outlet too many and something had to be done. In reaction to the fast food juggernaut sweeping the planet, Italian food writer Carlo Petrini launched Slow Food. His idea struck a chord and 20 years later there are now around 80,000 Slow Food members in over 120 countries, dedicated to a slower, better quality of life through good food.
As the name suggests, Slow Food represents everything that fast food does not:
and relaxed, leisurely dining in the company of family and friends.
Central to the Slow Food philosophy is the belief that the enjoyment of excellent food and drink should be combined with efforts to save the countless traditional grains, vegetables, fruits, animal breeds and food products that are disappearing due to the prevalence of convenience (fast) food and industrial farming practices.
Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. The food we eat should taste good; it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.
Slow Food invites us to consider ourselves co-producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process.
By reawakening and training our senses, Slow Food helps us rediscover the joys of eating and understand the importance of caring where our food comes from, who makes it and how it’s made.
Convivium (local Slow Food groups) activities introduce local foods and producers to both members and non-members, while Taste Workshops offer guided tastings with food experts. School initiatives like convivium school gardens offer our youngest eaters hands-on learning experiences about the food they eat and grow themselves.
