On Saturday, June 25 the Museum presents the Let’s Talk About Food Festival, taking place along the DCR Cambridge Parkway, behind the Royal Sonesta and adjacent to the Museum of Science. The festival aims to educate, elevate, and empower the civic conversation about all aspects of our food system. Members of the community, along with farmers and chefs, scientists and policy makers, healthcare professionals, performers and artists, will gather along the Charles River for this one-day event. Highlights include “the Endless Table,” a 600-feet long table around which festival participants and guests will gather; a “Main Stage and Sub-Zero & Wolf Demo Kitchen,” where many of Boston’s best chefs will present cooking demonstrations; a gourmet a “Food Truck Food Court” featuring some of the city’s most popular food trucks; an “Edible Garden,” and hands-on activities, cooking and gardening demonstrations, and food sampling stations. All Let’s Talk About Food Festival activities are free to the public.
The festival caps the successful inaugural year of the Let’s Talk About Food initiative, launched by the Museum of Science in Fall 2010. According to Paul Fontaine, Museum vice president of education, “Food enhances our experiences, forms the basis of cultural traditions, and brings us together. The Museum is thrilled to gather our diverse communities in celebration of this common bond, and in an effort to learn from each other how we can improve the health of our bodies, minds, and environment through thoughtful decisions.” He added, “We’re grateful to Whole Foods Market for their generous sponsorship of the Let’s Talk About Food Festival, which we hope will become a model for food-inspired happenings across the country.”
“Whole Foods Market is proud to sponsor the Let’s Talk About Food Festival. Educating consumers about the effects their food selections have on their health and the environment is a part of our mission as a company,” said Kimberley Rose, Vice President of Purchasing, Merchandising and Distribution for Whole Foods Market’s North Atlantic Region. “This festival is a fun way to engage the community and empower them to make the best food decisions for themselves and their families.”
“The big idea behind Let’s Talk About Food is that we all eat, and in many ways, we are all food experts. But each one of us cares about food in multiple ways,” said Louisa Kasdon, founder of Let’s Talk About Food. “Some of us love cooking and want to learn more, or are simply fascinated by the science of cooking. Others are most energized around the issues of obesity and health, or school lunches, or sustainability. Many of us want to do something about hunger or industrial food, or worry about the food safety of our food system. The Let’s Talk About Food Festival is a kind of food-centered town meeting for our community, where experts and citizens will come together, and explore the entire range of food topics.”
Chef participants include Jody Adams (Rialto), Joanne Chang (Flour and Myers+Chang), Dante de Magistris (Restaurant dante), Charles Draghi (Erbaluce), Mary Dumont (Harvest), Didi Emmons (Take Back the Kitchen), Tiffani Faison (finalist, Season 1 Top Chef), Todd Heberlein (Wilson Farm), Frank McClelland (L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre), and Richard Vellante (Legal Sea Foods).
Also joining the festival: Shannon Allen, (host, The Pre Game Meal), Tara Mardigan, (nutritionist for the Boston Red Sox), Sally Sampson, (Chop Chop Magazine), Ellen Ecker Ogden, (author, The Complete Kitchen Garden), Jeff Potter (author, Cooking for Geeks), Gus Rancatore (owner, Toscanini Ice Cream), Jim Wilson (owner/farmer, Wilson Farm), and Eva Sommaripa (owner, Eva’s Green Garden).
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