Best Culinary Schools Guide

Whether you’re considering a career in culinary arts or already enrolled in culinary school, get informed about the Slow Food movement, an organization whose goal is, in part, to help people enjoy the act of eating.  Founded nearly 20 years ago in Europe, Slow Food now numbers close to 90,000 members in 100 countries worldwide.Here in North America, many well-known chefs are outspoken supporters of Slow Food. One of the most notable and accomplished is Chef Alice Waters, owner of famed Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California, author of 9 cookbooks, and winner of more culinary awards that you can shake a stick at.Waters’ most recent cookbook, The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes From a Delicious Revolution pays homage to Slow Foods principles, using high-quality ingredients to make simple, yet exquisite meals. As described by Boston Globe reviewer T. Susan Chang, “In “The Art of Simple Food,” Waters has done nothing less than write the basic cookbook you need to get started on a lifetime of good eating from your own kitchen.” Might be one to add to the bookshelf next to old standbys such as The Joy of Cooking.In an interview/luncheon date with Waters last fall, New York Times food writer Kim Severson explains the chef’s distinct style, which begins with the freshest, best produce around. Part of Waters’ dedication to the Slow Foods movement centers around this focus on the source of food, which both Waters and SF members agree should be purchased locally and grown using environmentally friendly practices. Quoting Waters, “If you are not buying the right ingredients, this is going to taste like any other food.”If we can all slow down enough to notice the difference, most people would probably agree.