An Evening with Alice Waters
Talbott & Arding was proud to co-host an evening with Alice Waters, in conversation with writer Bill Buford, to benefit Slow Food Hudson Valley. The event held special significance for us, as Mona Talbott serves on the board of Slow Food Hudson Valley and is deeply committed to advancing its mission of supporting local food communities and sustainable agriculture.
The evening also marked the publication of Alice's new book, A School Lunch Revolution. Equal parts cookbook and manifesto, it is a natural extension of the Edible Schoolyard Project she founded in 1995. The book makes the case that what we feed children at school is not a logistical afterthought but a matter of values, and that seasonal, locally sourced food belongs in every public school kitchen. It is a timely and necessary argument.
Alice Waters needs little introduction to anyone who cares about how food is grown, cooked and shared in this country. As the founder of Chez Panisse and a lifelong advocate for farmers, school gardens and the pleasures of the table, she has shaped the way an entire generation thinks about eating. Bill Buford, whose books Heat and Dirt are essential reading for anyone serious about food great writing, was a generous and probing interlocutor. The conversation ranged from the origins of Chez Panisse to the state of American food culture today.
Slow Food's work of defending biodiversity, supporting small producers and keeping traditional food culture alive is integral to everything we do at Talbott & Arding. The producers we buy from, the cheeses we carry and the food we make all depend on the kind of quiet, persistent effort that Slow Food champions. We are grateful to be part of this community, and to have had the chance to bring some of it together in Hudson.
