Dear Slow Food Members and Supporters:

This is my October update on our projects and activities.

First of all, Welcome to all our new members! We’ve reached the number of 70 now! Together with our supportes (who will join soon), we make almost 100 members! A couple more and we will have to split into two Convivia!

Autumn months are packed with events with Terra Madre in Turin and lots of our local events, as well as events at our neighbours’ SF Berkshire & Wiltshire.

Slow Food Berkshire & Wiltshire Beef Dinner (apparently even desert will be made from beef products there!) So, don’t miss it! 7 October at Swan Inn, Inkpen, Berkshire. Contact Clare Marriage.

Terra Madre, Turin, Italy, 26-30 October

The Osterie & Locande d'Italia A guide to traditional places to eat and stay in Italy combines two important Slow Food publications, the best selling Osterie d'Italia and the accommodation guide Locande d'Italia, into one English volume. The combined guide includes 1700 dining establishments as well as 800 pensions, hotels, bed & breakfasts and room rentals offering peaceful surroundings and wonderful hospitality: places, in short, that reflect the Slow Food philosophy. It will be launched at Terra Madre, so those of you going – look out for it!

Also, Slow Food UK are still looking for volunteers to help man the SF UK stand, so let Fiona Richmond know if you are able to help or complete the form on the Slow Food London weblog, as previously advised.

UK Regional Meeting at Terra Madre: Sunday 29th October @10am

For those of you coming to Terra Madre/Salone with a convivium pass, you are invited and strongly encouraged to attend the UK Regional meeting on Sunday 29th @ 10am. This is a dedicated meeting for only the UK participants/delegates (food communities, cooks, convivium leaders, observers and so on). This is a great opportunity to bring all the UK representatives together, so please do mark it in your diaries and come along.

Slow Food Oxon Fungi Foray, 29 October

For those of us who will not be at Terra Madre this year, Ian Bird has organised a fantastic event, in partnership with the Oxfordshire County Council – a mushroom hunt, starting with a cup of Ian’s favourite mushroom soup, m-m-m… I am not sure if there are places available, but do contact Ian.

Slow Food Student

As a Convivium, we may get into Slow Food history as pioneers of a Slow Food Student movement. With the support of our Committee members and a grant from Midcounties CO-OP, we are now ready to launch a new initiative aiming to get university undergraduates to learn about Slow Food, about cooking and about food production, at the same time tackling their most stringent problem – just £4 a day spent on food! (not drink…) The launching event has now been set for 8 November, in Oxford and we are hoping to get up to 50 Oxford Unviersity students to attend what may later become a new society and (why not?) spread across the UK. SF Oxon producers-members will be invited to attend, display their produce and talk to students about real food cost. A wide publicity campaign has been launched and we will follow this up with cooking demonstration and farm tours.

Bread Matters

Andrew Whitley's book “Bread Matters…” has inspired our book club to turn the next meeting into a wide SF Oxon event and invite everybody interested in bread making. The event will be held on 15 November, at The Rose, 51 High Street Oxford, 6:30pm. The owner, lovely Marianne Bruel, has again offered her fantastic little restaurant. Needless to say, Andrew Whitley has been invited, too. Bring your favourite homemade bread, if you like, with your favourite home made snacks and you can buy your drinks from The Rose. The place is pretty small, so we’ll have to close the sign up line a week before, on 8 November.

What a line up of events!

See you there,

Tamara