Terra Madre Americas: A Culinary Confluence
As the new RMI Student Writer covering food science and RMI-related events, I had the opportunity to attend Terra Madre Americas, which was new to me. Having recently been passed the student writer baton by my now graduated food science mentor (thanks, Gwen!), I was excited at the prospect of attending and writing about Terra Madre Americas. When I got off the bus in Sacramento on the last weekend of September, after an hour of searching on my phone to figure out what the experience could entail, nothing could have prepared me for the incredibly diverse, engaging, and delicious experience I had at Terra Madre Americas.
Modeled after Terra Madre Salon del Gusto in Turin, Italy, which is built around the idea of the “Slow Food Movement,” a global campaign acting to ensure good, clean, and fair food for all, Terra Madre Americas is a 3-day celebration featuring educational panels, celebrity chef demonstrations, food and drink tastings, live music, artisan vendors, and more. The exposition was held from September 26-28 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, with a street market and live music stage directly outside. I was lucky enough to attend the event’s second day, and in keeping with the Slow Food ideal of accessibility, attendance was free except for some specific tastings and demonstrations. This factor surely paid off, seeing as over 165,000 people attended over the 3 days.
Throughout the event, I attended five talks/tastings, three of which were hosted by UC Davis Health at the UC Davis Pavilion within the convention center, and featured topics and experts from both Sacramento and Davis campuses. With each panel, I learned more and more about how important nutrition and slow food really are, and how much it meant to the presenters themselves. The panels offered insight into the importance of slow food, including the affordability of certain food products and how to optimize spending habits while still creating delicious meals, and ways to use all parts of each food to not only reduce food waste but also reap the maximum nutritional benefits possible.
Talk & Tasting: Healing Meals for Cancer Recovery
At “Talk & Tasting: Healing Meals for Cancer Recovery,” Terese Hollander; Catering Supervisor, UC Davis Health, and Danielle Baham, R.D.; Registered Dietitian, UC Davis Health prepared delicious Braised Tuscan White Beans & Greens while explaining the health benefits of each ingredient, whether it was the hearty plant-based protein and fiber source of the cannellini beans or the vitamin-rich leafy greens, providing robust nutrition to aid with cancer recovery.
Jujube Fresh Variety Tasting
Gaelle Chanlot Delarue, a project scientist focusing on consumer behavior at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR), held a mini consumer test at her “Jujube Fresh Variety Tasting”. Jujubes are small, round fruits with a single seed, native to Southwest Asia but eaten worldwide. Texturally, they are quite similar to apples, with a slightly more neutral and less acidic flavor. The purpose of the tasting was to educate consumers on the fruit and gather data on flavor/size/shape preferences for California farmers to implement. As the audience tasted four different provided jujube varieties and filled out a short survey, rating them based on liking, size, and sweetness preferences, Gaelle described the nutritional benefits and growth strategies for jujubes - an underrated and underutilized fruit in the United States!
UC Santa Cruz Culinary Demo and Tasting: From Bay to Basin
The “UC Santa Cruz Culinary Demo and Tasting (From Bay to Basin)” had my favorite dish of the afternoon. Ryan Yates, the executive chef at UCSC, prepared an Onigiri with Lopes Family Farms Duck Confit and Calrose rice, Sierra Orchards Walnut–Honey Sand, and Blackberry Monterey Bay Sea Grapes - quite a (delectable) mouthful! Through this demo, he highlighted small California farms and enterprises to emphasize the importance of supporting local sources, something we should all strive to do, while also offering unique culinary inspiration that I will be sure to use in the future with pairings of fruity, nutty, and savory flavors.
Good Food is Good Medicine: Nutrition that Heals
“Good Food is Good Medicine: Nutrition that Heals” was a panel discussion held at the UC Davis Health stage, led by Scott Fishman, M.D. (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, UC Davis Health), Kathryn Leah MacLean, R.D. (Registered Dietitian, Integrative Medicine, UC Davis Health), Francene Steinberg, Ph.D., R.D. (Chair, UC Davis Department of Nutrition), and Maria Gardner (Associate Scientist, UC Davis College of Biological Sciences). This discussion primarily focused on how the idea of “food is medicine” fits into healthcare today. With the growing number of food products focusing on nutrition and health in the market these days, this panel was particularly interesting to me as an aspiring product developer. Panelists spoke about the numerous benefits of fruits, vegetables, and diversifying the diet to feed the gut microbiome, ending with a Q&A where panelists helped audience members understand that steaming is the best way to preserve nutrients in food preparation, and that burgers actually have more nutrients than steak, as grinding meat makes proteins more absorbable.
Talk & Tasting: Affordable Choices for a Healthier Planet
The final tasting I attended was the “Talk & Tasting: Affordable Choices for a Healthier Planet”, also presented by UC Davis Health, and hosted by Chef Bob Walden (Executive Chef, UC Davis Health) and Angela Salas, R.D. (Registered Dietitian, UC Davis Health). The chefs handed out samples of an incredible Roasted Tomato Sauce (with some bread to dip!) as they shared ways to eat sustainably on a budget and maximize seasonal, local produce, such as buying from farmers’ markets and utilizing as much of the product as possible to reduce waste. The sauce was made with tomatoes and basil grown right on campus by students and faculty, creating far less waste than if they had bought tomatoes in bulk from a supplier. Chef Bob noted that while UC Davis may be considered a “small” dining commons, it hosts an average of 1300 people for dinner nightly, and last year, they harvested 44,000 lbs of tomatoes from the student farm!
Even just a glimpse of this incredibly well-organized and lively event would have been worth the two, hour-long bus rides. As a student in food science and technology major at UC Davis, I am interested in anything and everything related to food. The food science world is in constant evolution, with some companies leaning toward less-processed foods with more “clean” ingredients, and others keeping with long-standing processing traditions to keep costs low and output high. While it’s understandable that the Slow Food Movement is in conflict with some aspects of food science and technology, I believe that it is beneficial to at least become informed about the topic and attempt to employ Slow Food ideals in your own life, especially after hearing about the health and longevity that can be gained by putting time and effort into your diet!
After attending Terra Madre Americas and hearing the perspectives of the people who created most of the freshman-year meals I ate in the dining commons, I understand the passion panelists had for nutrition, farming practices, and culinary. Learning from members of UC Davis Health deepened my connection with and appreciation for the dining opportunities I’ve had during my time at UC Davis. When Terra Madre returns to Sacramento in 2027, alternating years with Terra Madre in Italy for the next 10 years, you better believe I will be first in line.
