From the 4th to the 6th of September 2015 the international event of the SlowMed project – Food as means of dialogue in Mediterranean context – filled the town of Tavira, in southern Portugal, of scents, flavors, smiles and reflections.
The event, hosted within the III Fair of the Mediterranean Diet, was attended by hundreds of local producers who exhibited their products on both banks of the Gilão river and throughout the town. It gave a chance to about 90 participants from the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea to meet and share in the theory and practice the great intangible heritage of the Mediterranean Diet. After a day exploring the Algarve, a region rich in culinary traditions and typical organic products, with numerous stops, tastings and meetings with local producers, on 4th September, the opening ceremony kicked off the official event in the presence of leading figures of the Portuguese politics and culture. Among these, the Secretary of State and Minister for Regional Development and the Vice Rector of the University of Algarve, who advocated the importance of investing in research and in supporting Mediterranean heritage not only from the gastronomic point of view.
The opening ceremony was an opportunity for a general presentation of the Slowmed project, given by its general coordinator Alberto Biondo, the results achieved so far and future steps to be taken, including the presentation of a book of recipes for children. In the following days debates, round tables and seminars were organised on the following themes: “Which Mediterranean diet for the twenty-first century?”, “The documentary as a means for dialogue” and “Dietetics and MED nutrition for children”, with the participation of experts on the subject, nutritionists and members of the local working groups of the six partner countries. The primary objective was the sharing of good practices and the search for common strategies for action.
Many have been also the practical activities organized, with a great involvement of the public. The six national teams of chefs have participated in two show cooking, during which each team presented a traditional dish of its country which was then revisited with fusion elements from the Mediterranean tradition of other countries. During the final night, four international teams of chefs, with one member from each partner country, have worked to prepare a dish as best representation of the values of the Mediterranean diet: taste, meeting of cultures, healthy lifestyle and high nutritional properties, competing in front of a jury for the proclamation of the winner team. The large audience was able to watch the preparation of dishes, to ask the chefs questions and to receive information about ingredients and procedures, but also to taste the delicacies that each team prepared and offered during the three evenings. You can find the winner recipe here.
Finally, the six documentaries, filmed and edited by each of the six national groups participating in SlowMed, have been presented as the final result of the local research conducted in the last months by the local working groups. The winner was the Spanish team, with a short film that was judged as the best to represent the Mediterranean diet as a means of intergenerational and intercultural dialogue and to promote its value and wealth. All six documentaries will be visible on the Youtube channel of the SlowMed project in the next days. Here below there is the winner documentary:
To be always updated, follow SlowMed on the project website and on its Facebook page and Twitter account.
For further information, please contact the project coordinator, Alberto Biondo: alberto.biondo@danilodolci.org
