Many local chefs, amateur cooks and “foodies” gathered together on Sunday for the Slow Food portion of the ongoing Indie Grits Film Festival. The attendees convened for three hours and shared a bevy of local, sustainable dishes.
Slow Food is a friendly competition and taste market of hors d’oeuvres that is simultaneously eco-conscious and appetizing. The afternoon served as a slice of foodie culture.
Some individuals brought in home-cooked dishes for a potluck so that they could equally partake and contribute to the Slow Food experience.
“These people are just local individuals who are foodies and want to cook,” said LeAnn Burkholter, a first-time Slow Food volunteer and self-proclaimed foodie. “I’m an avid home cook but I come here for the atmosphere.”
That atmosphere was heightened by the skilled local chefs, many being from the Vista and Main Street. Chef Gordon Langston of Bourbon, a new restaurant set to open on Main Street, spoke on the constraints of having at least one local, sustainable ingredient.
“It is a positive thing. We have the ability to change presentations and change ingredients frequently,” Langston said. “While we have a set menu, I like to incorporate things we can change.”
The use of these ingredients has developed the tastes of both the chefs and the consumers there.
“It certainly has increased my palette. The freshness is there,” Langston said. “I’m happy that so many people are here to support it.”
Beth McNamara, a second-year public relations student, played a large part in getting the word out about the event.
“I’ve been learning about the sustainable local chefs community and their green practices,” McNamara said. “For example, Baan Sawan Thai Bistro waters their plants with bar ice meltwater.”
These green practices capture the essence of the environmentally friendly vibe of Slow Food. The other large aspect of the festival is to emphasize locality.
Slow Food Columbia has seemed to have positive dividends on the local scene. Milo Klos, a chef at Charleston Cooks, served a dish with some local peach preserves from Rita’s Kitchen.
“We are trying to support our smaller farms in the state and this is just one more natural extension of that,” Klos said. “Columbia has more and more to offer every day. A lot more restaurants are opening up that are making these big pushes on farm-to-table super fresh foods.”
Making that connection to Columbia is extending to Gamecock students as well. Fourth-year political science student Mic Davis attended the Slow Food event for his Politics of Local Food class.
“I’m here volunteering for my class, talking with sustainable farms,” Davis said. “I now have a totally different view of consumption in everything we intake. Why not come out here and support your local farm?”
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