Over Labor Day weekend, La Cense Beef had the opportunity to serve some of their grass-fed beef to the young eaters at the Slow Food Nation Eat In, which was the culminating event of the Youth Movement of Slowfood Nation. It was a beautiful day – the meal came together very naturally, and the speakers rallied and inspired the crowd.
The event was free, and gathered 250 young people who registered online and showed up to share the fruits of their labor across one long table that wound around Dolores Park in San Francisco. Slow Food Nation saw the Eat In as “an opportunity for the young people inheriting our food system to share stories, break bread and discuss the next steps in building a global movement of young people committed to bringing good, clean and fair food to everyone.”
Speakers included, Meghan Cohorst representing the Student/Farmworker Alliance; Trevor Paque, founder of MyFarm; and Sam Levin, who founded a student-run organic garden and sustainable dining program at his high school.
The participants worked in groups with chefs to prepare food they picked up at the farmers markets over the weekend. Chef and noted food writer, Clodagh McKenna, helped lead a group in preparing our La Cense grass-fed beef. Chef McKenna has been involved in the farm to plate movement largely in her native Ireland, beginning as a chef and teacher at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. She went on to run her own stall at a farmers market, and later worked to develop more farmers markets throughout Ireland. McKenna has two books out, including The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook, and also hosts a TV show called, ‘Fresh from the Farmers Markets’. She stood out that afternoon as great mentor for those involved in the Youth Movement. McKenna had a few nice words for us, and was very enthusiastic about the roast she prepared: "The beef was marvelous. The quality was super, the marbling was just perfect. All it really needed was a little salt, pepper and rosemary'.
We met a lot wonderful people like Chef McKenna - many young farmers, chefs, and eaters who all shared a vision for making a good, clean, fair food system possible for our generation. Everyone parted that evening feeling nourished and confident we are on the right track, and that we have a generation who understands that the work of providing food to this country and the world in the coming decades will take a lot of ingenuity, cooperation, and hard work.
