What a day!
We interviewed two of the top people in the slow food movement - Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame and bestselling author of "Fast Food Nation", Eric Schlosser. Of course all this happens on the same day we are set to fly to Los Angeles, but what is a day without a little pressure?!
We met Eric at Fort Mason and listened as he spoke about his quest for information when researching "Fast Food Nation". He loved fast food, ate it often. It was only when he wrote a small article for Rolling Stone that he began learning more about its backwards environment - low wages, machines doing the work humans could do, supporting huge agribusinesses and most importantly, single handedly supporting the ill-protected slaughterhouse workers who literally work in 3rd world conditions to get us our $.59 burger that tastes the same every time. He was so moved, the small article turned into a bestselling book. Eric is an absolute wealth of knowledge and deserves all accolades he receives. He is gracious, HUGELY well-informed and very patient as I approached him no less than 6 times to schedule our meeting. I told him that I was beginning to feel like a buzzard surrounding my prey.
NOTE - not all fast food is horrible, there is one option left - In and Out Burger is the only sustainable fast food restaurant out there. Eric says it's the only place he will eat after writing the book. They are family owned, support smaller farms, pay their workers fair wages and after a crew taste-test on Wednesday, are definitely the best burger and fries out there!
Immediately after that great interview, we found the only side of the pier not decorated by the countless seagulls and put together a fancy little interview station for Alice Waters. This was a moment we had been waiting for. We had eaten at her restaurant in Berkeley a few days prior and it was so flavorful and literally melt in your mouth - halibut with heirloom tomatoes, shoestring potatoes and green beans with pluots and sweet mini grapes for dessert, all grown locally - that we were waiting to meet the goddess that created this meal which gave us the sustenance to carry on the rest of the time only on bags of nuts (read post below).
Alice is surprisingly calm given the fact that her handlers are moving her from venue to venue on a 15-minute basis. She is one of the founders of Slow Food USA and a proponent of bringing Edible Education into our nation's school system. She is hugely protective of children's rights to know what they are eating and to become better informed at a young age of the importance of food. She emphasizes the natural tastes in foods and bringing back a sense of community and fun to growing and preparing one's own food. Truly the magic behind the movement, we were absolutely honored for her to take the time to talk with us. And just as quickly as she came in, she was off - next thing I knew, she was onstage doing a cooking show. Red Bull may give you wings, but fresh, local produce makes you unstoppable like a freight-train. Thanks Alice!!
We interviewed two of the top people in the slow food movement - Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame and bestselling author of "Fast Food Nation", Eric Schlosser. Of course all this happens on the same day we are set to fly to Los Angeles, but what is a day without a little pressure?!
We met Eric at Fort Mason and listened as he spoke about his quest for information when researching "Fast Food Nation". He loved fast food, ate it often. It was only when he wrote a small article for Rolling Stone that he began learning more about its backwards environment - low wages, machines doing the work humans could do, supporting huge agribusinesses and most importantly, single handedly supporting the ill-protected slaughterhouse workers who literally work in 3rd world conditions to get us our $.59 burger that tastes the same every time. He was so moved, the small article turned into a bestselling book. Eric is an absolute wealth of knowledge and deserves all accolades he receives. He is gracious, HUGELY well-informed and very patient as I approached him no less than 6 times to schedule our meeting. I told him that I was beginning to feel like a buzzard surrounding my prey.
NOTE - not all fast food is horrible, there is one option left - In and Out Burger is the only sustainable fast food restaurant out there. Eric says it's the only place he will eat after writing the book. They are family owned, support smaller farms, pay their workers fair wages and after a crew taste-test on Wednesday, are definitely the best burger and fries out there!
Immediately after that great interview, we found the only side of the pier not decorated by the countless seagulls and put together a fancy little interview station for Alice Waters. This was a moment we had been waiting for. We had eaten at her restaurant in Berkeley a few days prior and it was so flavorful and literally melt in your mouth - halibut with heirloom tomatoes, shoestring potatoes and green beans with pluots and sweet mini grapes for dessert, all grown locally - that we were waiting to meet the goddess that created this meal which gave us the sustenance to carry on the rest of the time only on bags of nuts (read post below).
Alice is surprisingly calm given the fact that her handlers are moving her from venue to venue on a 15-minute basis. She is one of the founders of Slow Food USA and a proponent of bringing Edible Education into our nation's school system. She is hugely protective of children's rights to know what they are eating and to become better informed at a young age of the importance of food. She emphasizes the natural tastes in foods and bringing back a sense of community and fun to growing and preparing one's own food. Truly the magic behind the movement, we were absolutely honored for her to take the time to talk with us. And just as quickly as she came in, she was off - next thing I knew, she was onstage doing a cooking show. Red Bull may give you wings, but fresh, local produce makes you unstoppable like a freight-train. Thanks Alice!!
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