Each year our Slow Food Orange County chapter submits a report to Slow Food USA that contains statistics and lists activities and accomplishments for the year. After submitting the report at the end of January, I was pleased with the number and variety of projects and events. I enjoyed the overview of 2012 that the chapter report provided. I would like to share the highlights of this report with all of you.

Our chapter goals for 2012 were to increase recognition of the Slow Food name and values throughout Orange County, to increase the number of actively participating members and to develop partnerships with local organizations working to promote good, clean and fair food. Our statistics indicate that we have made progress in all these areas. Slow Food Orange County has approximately 200 active members, a mailing list of 1222 and 479 Facebook fans. We held a total of 23 events in 2012. Including attendance at a large event at the Orange County Great Park our annual attendance totaled 5000 people. We had 70 people working as volunteers. Thirty of the volunteers were new members. We specifically talked with approximately 600 people at Slow Food information tables and 180 people attended specific Slow Food events for the first time. We partnered with fourteen like-minded organizations in our events and projects.

The following is a list of our 2012 events and projects:

• Showing of Future of Food  Film and GMO Labeling Discussion
• Vermiculture and Aquaculture Demonstration and Workshop
• Themed Potlucks - Try a New Vegetable, California Days & Family Traditions
• Kallari Chocolate Tasting  
• 5 Bar Beef Ranch Tour
• Chef Dinner and Garden Tour of Park Avenue Restaurant
• Alegría Farm Tour
• Bommer Canyon Barbecue
• Garden workdays at Tustin Memorial Academy School Garden
• Artisan Food Festival at the Great Park - fiscal sponsor & information booth
• Food Week - fiscal sponsor along with OC Food Access and the Positive Plate
• The Harvest Club - harvested oranges in this residential gleaning program
• Advocacy Campaigns - The Old Orchard Conservancy, CA Prop 37 & Cottage Food! Law CA
• Slow Food Information tables:  The Orange County Fair, Green Scene - Fullerton Arboretum, Annual Persimmon Party -City of Orange
• Slow Food Book Club - founded December 2012

In 2012 we also increased our participation with other Slow Food Chapters within California. Members of our leadership team attended a Southern CA regional dinner offered by Slow Food Urban San Diego and a Limoncello workshop by Slow Food Temecula. We have members serving on both the structure and policy committee for the newly forming Slow Food California group. We have a chapter member serving on the National Biodiversity committee. We sent a delegate to the National Congress in Louisville, Kentucky and 3 of our members attended Terra Madre in Turin, Italy, and our chair was selected as a delegate to the International Congress held concurrently in Turin.

I hope that provides a clear overview of our 2012 year in Slow Food OC. The overview shows we are doing a number of activities in the spirit of "good" - enjoying delicious food with others in a spirit of conviviality and advocating for the "clean" and "fair" that makes the good possible. A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers who made these events possible. 

Linda Elbert
Slow Food OC, Chair 

Guests and volunteers all enjoyed a dinner of traditional northern Italian dishes and organic/biodynamic Italian wines at the home of Brian Cuddy, owner of the Organic Cellar. The evening started with appetizers and Prosecco on the patio overlooking a spectacular panoramic view of Laguna Canyon. Guests moved inside for dinner prepared by our steering committee chair Linda Elbert. She is also the chef and owner of The Basement Table, a sustainable supper club, and a teacher of cooking classes.

Linda organized this dinner to share the food and cultural experiences of Terra Madre where she served as a delegate to the International Congress. While at Terra Madre, she tasted many wonderful Italian dishes and attended a series of cooking classes titled "Cooking Without Waste." These classes provided an in-depth understanding of how great dishes evolved as people limited to cooking with local ingredients learned to make a region's edible products shine individually while blending the unique flavors together.

Michelle Bretall, a chef from the Basement Table volunteered to help with the  cooking for the night and Ted Wright, Slow Food member and passionate home cook, served as our sous chef. We had a very hard working team of Slow Food volunteers who helped to set up, serve, and clean up - Steve Widmayer, Gillian Poe (who also attended Terra Madre), Sopie Loeb, Haywood Wright and Teryl Chapel. Thanks Everyone!

Brian Cuddy entertained and educated guests about the various winemakers in Italy and sommelier, Dawn Bresee, paired wines with the food and offered tasting notes throughout the evening. Guests lingered over wine and coffee enjoying each others company in true Slow Food style.