Finca Luna Nueva will be hosting its second “Slow Food in the Rainforest” luncheon in celebration of Terra Madre Day on December 9, 2012.

It will be a fun and exciting day at our eco-lodge in the rainforest. The event will start between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. with an introductory gathering in Casa Luna where we will serve fresh juice, coffee or tea, and galletas, after which the group will split into smaller groups for a tour of the gardens at the farm.

Lunch will be served at 1 p.m. The luncheon will be a celebration of the essence of Slow Food – food that is good, clean, and fair and will be provided from both the gardens at our farm and from local purveyors. After lunch we will gather again at Casa Luna to watch the annual message from Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement, which is now a worldwide movement to preserve diversity in our food supply and to support local growers. You can read more about the genesis of this movement at this link.

http://www.slowfood.com/terramadreday/

This year we will be able to accommodate 30 guests. Reservations are mandatory and we ask if you do make a reservation that you please honor it, or if you are not able to attend for some reason, that you kindly cancel so we can let others know. As with last year’s event, we anticipate a waiting list, so make your reservations early! The cost for the luncheon and tour will be $20.00 per person.

Make your reservation at [email protected]

Slow Food International has posted hundreds of photos (including ours!) on their facebook page. This is the ultimate celebration of good, clean, and fair food! The photos are beautiful and inspiring.

You can read about other celebrations all over the world here: www.slowfood.com

This is a synopsis of our last year’s luncheon, which was posted on the Terra Madre website:

Steven Farrell, a leader of rainforest conservation and Biodynamic farming in Costa Rica and a member of the Slow Food Convivium of San Jose, Costa Rica, hosted a luncheon in honor of Terra Madre Day at his Finca Luna Nueva organic farm in the rainforest. Finca Luna Nueva is in San Isidro de Peñas Blancas, a small agricultural community near the Children’s Eternal Rainforest and the Arenal Volcano and hot springs.

Chef Ernesto Spinelli, of Evergreen, Colorado and San Ramon, Costa Rica, prepared a sumptuous meal for the 40 attendees, who came from several of the surrounding towns to savor dishes whose ingredients were either grown on the farm or purchased from local vendors in the area. The menu consisted of chicken piccata, caprese salad, roasted baby potatoes, fresh hearts of palm, potato, and avocado salad with a tarragon vinaigrette, brown rice with shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and a variety of salad field greens from the farm’s garden. For dessert there was coconut flan made from fresh milk from the farm’s dairy cows.

After lunch, the group gathered in the salon to watch the video of Carlo Petrini’s Terra Madre Day message, followed by a discussion about the importance of supporting Slow Food’s platform of good, clean, and fair food. . . for everyone! Many of the attendees were members of other Slow Food Convivia in the United States where they reside during the summer. Every guest expressed a true desire to be more involved in the Slow Food movement by supporting local food purveyors and developing their own gardens. The event was so successful that a second Slow Food luncheon is already being planned for our area with talk of forming a new convivium for the people who live in the Zona Norte of Costa Rica.

Come join the Terra Madre Celebration. See you in December.

Directions to the farm are here:

http://fincalunanuevalodge.com/directions-hotel-costa-rica.html