Euro Gusto 09- Tours, France

 

"Bernard...elixir... dal 1902"

I'm finally back home from visiting my family and friends in the US and our promotional trip to the premiere, biennial edition, of Slow Food International's Euro Gusto 09 in Tours, France, so I just might get back on a regular blogging schedule. Goodness knows, I have plenty of things to say, and even some interesting events to say them about! One can certainly hope.

The last few days working at Euro Gusto 09, has been another wonderful, affirming experience. We traveled with our friend, Enrico Bernard of Bernard Elixir, to help promote his families' local mountain liqueur business, bringing his range of secret family digestive recipes, or elixirs as they are called, to a broader audience. We did the same back in March in London, but this event has the distinction of being a Slow Food exposition, and with that, you can rest assured that the products are of the highest standard, produced or grown with uncompromising integrity with respect for tradition and sustainability. Fabrizio and I created our TEM Association with the express purpose of bringing wider recognition and more tourism to our "off the beaten path valley", while supporting our fellow Val Chisone mountain businesses and encouraging sustainability and ecological practices.

In the words of the Euro Gusto organization, 

"The new event of the international movement “Slow Food”, Euro Gusto is held in alternating years in the City of Tours in the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Loire Valley in France. Euro Gusto presents a unique opportunity to...

• discover and purchase quality food products from across Europe and France and the “Centre” Region;
• understand the cultural, economic and environmental implications of food that is “good, clean and fair” and, 
• Learn to be an informed customer, supporting an environmentally sustainable food system 

We know when we attend any Slow Food events, like our local Torino Salone del Gusto, we will meet interesting and passionate people, producing foods from near and far that I never even knew existed. The diversity of offerings is staggering and inspiring. I always leave with not only a bag full of goodies familiar and not, but a renewed sense of purpose to achieve the highest level of quality myself that we are capable of achieving with our food from our locality. Make sure to seek out some local events in your area, you'll be surprised as to what is being produced in your backyard. Or you could even tailor a visit to one of our European events for a taste of the exotic and familiar. I know you won't be disappointed. Our Torino Salone del Gusto, next year runs 21-25 October, 2010. Mark your calender.
It was such a pleasure to participate in an event with such diversity and quality. As usual the attendees were as interesting as the participants and the crowds were manageable so you could  sample the many wonderful cheeses, cured meats, pastries, chocolate, oysters, wine, digestivi, vinegars, organic fruits and vegetables, marmalade, breads, fleur de sal, butter caramel, and  on and on.... Such diversity should be shared, so I put together a slide show of many of the participants to give you a healthy dose of what was on offer and maybe just maybe tantalize you into putting a Slow Food event on your calender.We'd be happy to point the way.