Culinary Sustainability

Culinary Sustainability Programs

Culinary sustainability is an increasingly important part of our lives as the world we live in becomes more global, resources become more scarce, and we face important issues such as recycling of our ever-increasing waste and GMOs. At Flavor of Italy, culinary responsibility is vitally important and is reflected in every culinary program we offer. Our classes and tours are all great fun, yet would be incomplete if we didn’t incorporate info on sustainability as it applies to the food we consume.
If you’d like to take a closer look at some of these issues, we offer a number of seminars and classes with a focus culinary sustainability. We are also open to structuring customized programs on a topic of your interest.

Culinary Sustainability Film Series

Flavor of Italy screens a series of films on culinary sustainability, followed by an aperitivo and discussion. Films will cover an array of topics from GMOs to sustainable meat and fish, to dining from farm to table.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the word “sustainability.” Learn to distinguish buzz from baloney, what’s behind it all, and how it affects you and your life.

Oceans, Rivers, and Lakes
Sustainable Seafood Consumption

Learn about which fish are endangered in your area, which are seasonal, which are the most nutritious. Learn about how you can be a responsible fish purchaser and consumer both at the fish purveyor and when you are dining out. There will be a film viewing on the state of our oceans.

Culinary Waste and Recycling
As we purchase food for our meals and then prepare it, it’s important to keep the waste we are generating at the back of our minds. Recycling has become a major issue in the Western world as we now generate an ever-increasing amount of food packaging waste.

Learn how to be a responsible purchaser and consumer as you approach your meal. Learn how to pre-cycle rather than recycle, and the 4 Rs for recycling.

Farm to Table
Taking a Step Backwards

With our ever increasingly busy lifestyles coupled with the convenience of large supermarkets and fast food it’s hard to imagine getting back to a “farm to table” lifestyle. It’s not as complicated as it seems and taking the time to prepare fresh foods is both easy and quick.

This seminar will help you carve out an easy to manage “farm to table” style of dining that is simple, healthy and enjoyable.

Food Rules
A simple approach to your culinary life that works.

Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” is an eater’s handbook on how to purchase and consume food. It’s a valuable and easy to follow book for anyone from age 9 to 92. We’ll use this book as the springboard for a seminar on how to return to a healthy diet and the simple tips you can keep in the back of your mind as you approach food.

To Meat or not to Meat
How to Choose—and Should You Be Eating It?

Issues confronting meat consumption are twofold: the health and safety of animals and your health as a meat eater. This seminar, including a film viewing, covers the pertinent issues regarding meat consumption in the Western world.

Livestock live in increasingly inhumane conditions and are slaughtered in equally inhumane ways. Animal feed and antibiotics administered to livestock can also put your health at risk. How can you strike a balance between what is humane, healthy for you and your family, and economically accessible as you approach meal preparation? An in depth look at these important issues.

Creating an Edible Garden
Childhood Obesity and the “Let’s Move” Campaign

Flavor of Italy owner and chef Wendy Holloway participated in the “Chefs Move to Schools” initiative, hosted by Michelle Obama at the White House in June of 2010. The initiative is one of many tools in the Obama arsenal to combat the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in America.

Michelle Obama has planted a fruit and vegetable garden on the White House lawn that’s visible to passersby, set up a task force to work with schools, and encouraged chefs, school administrators, teachers and parents to focus more attention on healthy eating at school, where students take 50% of their meals. Michelle Obama believes that children who learn to eat healthy meals and choose locally, can influence their families who in turn can influence entire communities throughout the country.

This seminar will show you the simple basics of how to set up an edible garden at your child’s or your local community’s school. Learn how to turn the garden into a focal point of the children’s lunchtime and education experience.