** sustainable sourcing resource notes from the Slow Session **

Date: Thursday, March 4th
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Location: Flatbed Press, 2830 East Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Austin, TX 78702
Directions

We have all seen it slipping more and more into the menus of Austin’s local restaurants. You can usually spot those small words, “local” in the description of the item, but what does it mean? Was every ounce of your tender buffalo steak, braised greens and roasted potatoes from the farm or was it merely the parsley on top? Is the big restaurant trend for local sourcing a fad that chefs can easily whip up, or does it require a complete shift in the running of the kitchen? Moreover, what does local mean, and does it guarantee that the food is grown in a sustainable manner?

Join us March 4th at Flatbed Press for our Slow Food session on Sustainable Sourcing. The event will be a unique opportunity to start an ongoing community dialog about sourcing and to build relationships that will link us together as a food community. The session will be moderated with a panel of three local food industry professionals: a farmer, a chef, and a buyer/forager. Please bring your questions and if you like, a dish to share, because we might not all be foragers but we are definitely all eaters!

About the Panel

Buyer/Forager: Valerie Broussard
A Louisiana native, Valerie spent 11 years in New York City as a recipe tester, chef, food stylist, and writer. She moved to Austin following a year abroad in Parma, Italy where she completed an MA in Food Culture and Communications from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. She is currently the Organic Food Coordinator at Barr Mansion and volunteers as Slow Food Austin’s Biodiversity Chair.

Farmer: Erin Flynn
A writer and farmer, Erin and her husband Skip Connett run Green Gate Farms, a historic farm, eight miles east of downtown Austin. Erin is dedicated to connecting the community to local agriculture through their farm and events.

Chef: James Holmes, Owner/Executive Chef Olivia

Slow Session RSVP

Thursday, December 3
6:30pm – 10:30pm
Barr Mansion

Join Slow Food Austin and the Austin Permaculture Guild at the Barr Mansion, for a community potluck celebrating local food, and a presentation about Citizen Gardener, one of the best things to happen to Austin gardeners in a long time.

Got a dish for 6-8 that you’re proud of? Make it with local ingredients? Consider it your ticket to this potluck in the glass barn behind the Barr Mansion, a beautiful landmark event destination.

During the evening Austin Permaculture Guild will launch its latest class of certified permaculture graduates, and APG director Dick Pierce will present a slideshow about Citizen Gardener, a how-to-garden-in-Austin program.

RSVP
For directions to Barr Mansion, visit www.barrmansion.com

Happy Holidays!

Raw Talk & Tasting: Raw-Milk Cheese Meets Local Hops and Honey

At this first annual fundraiser for Slow Food Austin you will enjoy an evening of unique flavors, meet some of their producers and mingle with other Austinites who share a passion for slow food, set to the tunes of Austin’s Lost and Nameless.

Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer for Whole Foods Market, will lead an educational presentation and tasting of raw-milk cheeses complemented by the hand-crafted beers of Austin’s (512) Brewing Company and local honey from Round Rock Honey. Baskets of artisan baked bread from Lauren Hubele of Bona Dea Breads and homemade crackers from the Barr Mansion kitchen will accompany.

In the United States, the sale of raw milk cheeses that are aged less than 60 days is illegal. Fortunately, Slow Food’s Presidia program is working to protect this delectable artisan food, and at the recent Cheese 2009 event in Bra, Italy, Slow Food focused on pairing beer with cheese.

And don’t plan on leaving empty-handed! Our silent auction is chock full of Austin’s most delicious and quaffable goodies, as well as unforgettable culinary experiences. Tour the Austin Farmer’s Market with a local expert, then have dinner cooked at your house using the market’s most mouthwatering offerings. Join a CSA. Expand your culinary skills with lessons from a local chef. Leave Barr Mansion with your arms laden with premier wines, gift certificates to your favorite local merchants, and organic taste treats, this silent auction will be the most delectable in Austin’s history.

October 21, 2009
6:30–8:30 pm
Barr Mansion
Tickets: $50 ($40 Slow Food members)