Yesterday at Jimmy’s No. 43 we welcomed Slow Food founder and foodie icon Carlo Petrini for an intimate (in Italian!) meet and greet with this fun and fascinating man who launched the international movement almost 30 years ago. His efforts brought forth locavorism and the desire both to grow and to eat food in a sustainable way.
Carlo is a nearly messianic figure in the food world. This past Friday he was joined by another foodie icon, Alice Waters, for a special broadcast (you can catch it here) on Heritage Radio Network. (As an aside, HRN founder Patrick Martin was inspired by Carlo, having interned with him in the 90s before coming back to launch Slow Food USA, Heritage Foods, and HRN.)
Among his revelations yesterday, which he shared while enjoying our local Lardo Toasts from Flying Pigs Farm and East Village Meat Market:
- *Carlo is impressed by the change in America over the past 25 years, especially in the rise of microbreweries and farmstead cheeses.
- *He hates waste on a large-scale, commercial-food level.
- *He cares about the producers behind artisanal practices and products.
- *He appreciates simple affordable food and restaurants as much as the top, expensive, gastronomic restaurants.
- *He started out as restaurant reviewer for a communist Italian newspaper; when the first McDonald’s opened in Rome he started a “slow food” movement to fight the onslaught of fast food.
While at Jimmy’s No. 43, he paired the lardo with cider from Farnum Hill (he drank the Kingston Black; we’ll have a special tasting on October 21st of Kingston Black varietals) and Eden Dry Sparkling Cider (join Eden’s Eleanor Leger for dinner on October 29th). If you missed him on this trip, keep an eye out for his return in November. He loves Jimmy’s No. 43 so much that he promised to drop by when he comes back to NYC.