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What's old is new again as local and seasonal foods find their way home Local and seasonal eating has been the norm since the beginning of time, but with the change to urban living, industrialization, and faster forms of transportation over the past century, the entire world has become an open food basket for anyone, anywhere. While this has facilitated the explosion in cooking and eating global cuisines, there has also been a price to pay in terms of quality, the environment and even food safety. The Slow Food Movement is the genesis of a growing philosophy that supports local, sustainable agriculture and resistance to the industrialization of food. But over the last several years, the organic and environmental movements have added quality, taste, nutrition, safety and lower "food miles" to the reasons for eating locally-grown foods. Now a network of personal chefs has decided to bring the concept of local, seasonal eating to a dinner plate near you. With a project entitled 100 Mile Meal Event, personal chefs across Canada are celebrating this country's harvest during the month of September, with special menus and meals featuring products from food producers within 100 miles of their location. In the Belleville and Picton areas, Chef Janet Craig of The Satisfied Soul Personal Chef Service has announced that she is acting on several fronts to support the 100 Mile Meal project. A teacher at Loyalist College, Janet has developed some special class menus featuring products from Prince Edward County. As well, with the bounty of local foods now available, she is already featuring County products in the dishes she creates for her personal chef clients. "Because we cook for individual families, our business is
already geared towards local demand, "With this project we
can educate our clients about regional food producers." The
objective is to get both producers and clients "turned on"
to supporting local farmers beyond the event itself. More information
about the September event can be found at 100MileMeals.net
- a website that includes links to local chefs and food suppliers
across Canada. The site also provides menu and recipe ideas and
contains a blog where chefs write about their experiences in researching
and developing their menus. The
Picton Gazette - August 2007
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