June Slow Food Supper at Edinburgh Larder Bistro - Nose to Tail with Gorgie City Farm

Monday night saw me attend a Slow Food Supper at the Edinburgh Larder Bistro, a restaurant committed to using the best local Scottish produce. Slow Food Suppers are an opportunity for like minded people to come together to chat and enjoy really good food. This element of conviviality, of the enjoyment of sharing good, clean and fair food together is central to the Slow Food movement. Edinburgh Larder Bistro have hosted a number of suppers and are keen supporters of Slow Food.

In recent months the Edinburgh events have welcomed special guests and suppliers such as Clyde Valley Tomatoes to talk about what they produce and why it's special in today's world of tasteless mass-produced food. This time, the speaker was Donna from Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh who talked about the pigs they raise there. At the farm she does amazing work helping disadvantaged and troubled children and teenagers by getting them involved looking after the pigs and learning more about farming and animal husbandry. At the heart of its local community, the farm is a valuable place where the kids can find out about where their food comes from, but more importantly helps them feel engaged and included in their often troubled lives.

Crackling

I was there supporting both Slow Food and the farm, where I have been volunteering with their 'Fork to Fork' gardening and cookery lessons. Our feast for the evening was some of Gorgie Farm's very own pork, raised less than a couple of miles from where we were sitting. These pigs have a happy life, something Donna is passionate about, having grown up on a farm and been around animals all her life. She draws the line at giving them names, only referring to the Gloucester Old Spot we were eating as 'Pig 006'. Using as much of the animal as possible is important to her, and this nose to tail ethos is shared at Edinburgh Larder Bistro. We started with some crackling, I'm not always a fan but this was wonderful, crisp, not too chewy and flecked with spices including sweet roasted fennel seeds.

Pig 006

From the choice of mains we had to try Pig 006, including different cuts cooked different ways. There were choice slices of pan fried loin and then slow cooked belly and cheek (I think), with a decedent layer of  fat. Also included was the oink, so I'm told, although I didn't spot it I ate it all up. The pork was served with braised peas and lettuce in a jus and garnished with wild rocket flowers. Our table played a game of 'guess the foraged wild flower' for a while!

Also on the menu was home smoked Pollock with cauliflower, heritage potatoes and bacon. This was a  generous slab of fish, highly seasoned and served with some perfectly cooked veg. A veggie option of spelt and barley risotto unsurprisingly didn't get a look in! I wasn't planning on having  a dessert (extra in the price), but the Espresso and Pecan tart with homemade ice cream changed my mind. I love coffee and pecans so I had to have it; the ice cream, though a small portion tasted had a pure, milky taste, worth ten yellow scoops from a carton. The tart was good, the pecans were excellent, however I didn't get a strong taste of espresso but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Though it was exciting to visit the restaurant, somewhere that's been on my list for a while, the supper wasn't all about the menu. It was a chance to meet some kindred spirits and share the evening talking about food, life and everything else (if there is anything else!). More so, it was about showing support for those that care about where food comes from and celebrating the work they do. That can go beyond producing and selling us the best in artisan produce, it can have a life changing effect. Gorgie Farm is a charity, so if you're in Edinburgh do visit, see the animals, buy some sausages and help them continue to make a difference.

Edinburgh Larder Bistro, 1a Alva Street, Edinburgh EH2 4PH

http://www.edinburghlarder.co.uk/bistro

Slow Food Edinburgh
http://slowfoodedinburgh.com/
http://slowfoodedinburgh.wordpress.com/

Gorgie City Farm, 51 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh EH1 2LA
http://www.gorgiecityfarm.org.uk/

Slow Food Edinburgh AGM February 2013

Slow Food is an international movement that brings together producers, chefs and enthusiasts all with an interest in preserving and promoting the pleasure of good food. Started in Italy in the 1980s, it has grown worldwide to thousands of members all with an interest in sharing and enjoying the best local produce their region has to offer. In contrast to the industrialisation of food production, mass agribusiness, supermarkets and fast food, Slow Food seeks to encourage people to reconnect with their food and where it comes from. Sustainability and provenance are key and at Ballymaloe they are big supporters of the movement, with Darina Allen speaking at the biannual Terre Madre event, a gathering of producers from all over the world held in Turin.

Slow Food is organised regionally in local grassroots groups set up by their members called convivia (from the latin 'with life'. In Edinburgh the Slow Food convivium is one of the largest in the UK and I attended their Annual General Meeting in February to find out more about the work they're doing in Scotland. It was held at the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School so I got to have a look at their lovely demo kitchen complete with glossy black aga!

Delicious Cake from The Edinburgh Larder

Before the serious business of the AGM a supper was served of organic chicken soup, tasty chicken served in a broth with vegetables, herbs and potatoes and slices of freshly baked onion bread. There was also sharp crumbly cheese made by St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese using unpasturised milk.

For dessert we ate chocolate cake made with beer from http://www.blackislebrewery.com/. The food was provided by a local business The Edinburgh Larder who are passionate about using the best of Scottish produce. We also had some delicious pies from Acanthus Hand Made Pies. They were quality raised pies filled with haggis, neeps and tatties and chicken curry.

Acanthus Pies

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Jane Stewart

The AGM covered a review of 2012 and the visit to the afformentioned Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto. Running alongside Terra Madre, the Salone del Gusto is a a food market on a massive scale, where wonderful producers from all over the world have the chance to display and sell their wares. I would love to go in 2014! Jane Stewart from St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese told us about it and some of the wide range of fabulous foods that were on offer, the producers and the similarities and shared values they found in common despite coming from different corners of the world.

Hams!

We also found out about some of the work Slow Food Edinburgh has been doing in the community, with schools, allotments and universities with Slow Food on Campus. There's lots going on and it was great to see so many people there and so many great producers so close to home. Hopefully that interest and enthusiasm can be maintained and built upon to encourage more people to think about where their food comes from. In the current climate of the horse meat scandal there was an interesting discussion about how Slow Food can do more to tackle the issues which have come out of that. It was no surprise to me and the people there that things like this happen when selling very cheap processed food at the end of a long supply chain, but what can be done next to convince others of the problems and risks inherent in such as system?

 

http://salonedelgustoterramadre.slowfood.com/

http://www.slowfood.com/ 

http://www.slowfood.org.uk/

https://sites.google.com/a/slowfoodedinburgh.co.uk/web/

The AGM