Slow Food: Florence

SLOW FOOD FLORENCE

travel guide

Slow Food Editore

SLOW FOOD FLORENCE

SLOW FOOD Introduction to

The Slow Food Movement was founded on the belief that humans can eat responsibly and with intention. Slow food aims to support good, clean and fair food all around the world. It is our responsibility as consumers to be part of the slow food process. We, the consumers, are food co-producers, organically completing the loop of the food journey. The loop is a circular system that pulls from all aspects of life. Slow food starts with the farmers, providing product, livestock, and fertile land. Farmers then pull from water reservoirs, locally made fertilizers, energy for equipment, transportation systems for delivery, and minimal packaging for consumption. Slow food allows the entire food journey to be traced from farm to table. The movement encourages a healthy transparency throughout the loop.

While producing slow food, the movement calls for little use of pesticides and keeping food organic and healthy. Consumers can eat seasonally and shop locally to stay close to these roots of the movement. Eating locally creates an atmosphere of appreciation of food. Eating slow food also upholds a natural biodiversity of communities and ensures social equity of food. Slow food is an encompassing system that advocates for people, planet, and profit of a community.

The Slow Food Movement creates a community that wants to gather around a table and enjoy good food with each other. Slow food elevates the appreciation of food through the acknowledgement of what it takes to produce quality food. The movement requires consumers to be aware and conscious of all aspects of food.

So find a table, take it slow, and enjoy.

SLOW FOOD History of

The Slow Food Movement was founded by Italian activist Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in the 1980’s. The spark of this movement came from the intended establishment of a new McDonald’s in the center of Rome. The original goal of the activists was to “defend regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life”. The movement gained traction and Slow Food was soon officially founded internationally in Paris. In 1990, the first edition of the Slow Food guide was published, signifying the founding of the Slow Food Editore.

Within the Slow Food Movement, there are specialities that target commonly unethical products and food systems. Some focused programs are Slow Wine, Slow Cheese, Slow Meat, Slow

Beans and Slow Fish. Most recently, in September 2021, the Slow Food Coffee Coalition was started. The movement also targets areas of weakness in the food system like bee populations, family farming, and food waste.

Over the decades, the movement expands to different countries and cities throughout the world. Specifically, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands join the movement. Projects, forums, programs and campaigns are established to educate people, organize festivals, and support international communication. Today, Slow Food is recognized in over 160 countries and practiced throughout many communities.

Biodiversity in

SLOW FOOD

Because slow food focuses on local and seasonal food, food producers are encouraged to support biodiversity. Biodiversity is the diversity of life including plants, animals and food. Sustainable food systems propose to protect the diversity of food and agriculture, also known as agrobiodiversity. The Slow Food Movement encourages food producers to use varying domestic animal and plant species and a variety of production methods in order to maintain a successful agrobiodiversity community. Good biodiversity protects and promotes the knowledge of traditional agriculture and food processes. When a community cultivates biodiversity, it supports a healthy regeneration of the land and life.

Vegan-friendly

Vegetarian-friendly

Gluten-Free Friendly

Seasonal Menu

Organic

Ingredients

SAN MARCO

IL DESCO BISTRO

Via Camillo Cavour

Il Desco Bistro offers a farm-to-table experience in the center of Florence. This restaurant is organic and fresh, quality Tuscan ingredients grown on a family farm in the hills of Florence.

Via de’Ginori SIMBIOSI RISTORANTE

Simbiosi Ristorante aims to promote organic farming and the use of naturally fertile soil. This spot does not use synthetic products or GMOS in their food.

IL VEGETARIANO

Via delle Ruote

Il Vegetariano has crafted a menu to create sustainable alternatives to the classic Florentine restaurant. All dishes are locally prepared with “zero kilometer ingredients”.

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA

CORTESE CAFÉ 900

Cortese Café 900 proudly produces pastries with raw, natural ingredients. This cafe creates their own fresh almond milk for a cappuccino or ingredient in a pastry.

SHAKE CAFÉ

Shake Café serves a menu that focuses on healthy, simple, and local food. The owner emphasizes the use of fresh fruit and vegetables from the Florentine markets.

SAN PAOLINO

San Paolino prioritizes gathering around a table with loved ones. The food is prepared with local regional products while combining traditional Tuscan and modern Italian cuisine.

Via degli Avelli

Via Palazzuolo

Piazza di Santa Maria Novella

SANTO SPIRITO

Carduccio is a farm to table spot with an all organic menu. The bistro serves coffee, breakfast, and lunch in a cozy, welcoming ambience. Stop by this bistro for healthy and nutritious food.

GURUDULU works closely with local Tuscan farms to provide quality raw ingredients. The gastronomy prioritizes a short supply chain and a transparent food process.

GELATERIA DELLA PASSERA

Toscanella

Gelateria della Passera is a small shop that has homemade gelato made from local producers and zero km, seasonal, raw materials. The milk used comes from a local sustainable farm.

Sdrucciolo de’ Pitti

Via delle Caldaie

Via

SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE

FLORET ARTISAN

KITCHEN & BAR

Via

Roma

Floret Kitchen & Bar changes with the seasons and the menu features nourishing, quality food. The food contains sustainable and chemical-free products that are locally sourced.

GELATERIA EDOARDO

Gelateria Edoardo provides fresh, organic gelato from a certified supply chain. The sorbet is crafted from seasonal fruits and the gelato is created from fresh eggs, milk, and sugar.

RISTORANTE QUINOA

V VG

Ristorante Quinoa is completely gluten-free but keeps a traditional menu. The menu changes seasonally and day-to-day based on the fresh produce at the local markets.

Piazza del Duomo

Vicolo di Santa Maria Maggiore

SANTA MARIA DEL CARMINE

L’OV OSTERA VEGETARIANA

Piazza Del Carmine

L’OV serves vegetarian dishes that change with the seasons. The chef proudly cooks traditional Tuscan meals with raw, fresh ingredients that burst with local flavor.

LA CITÉ

S. Frediano

La Cité composes the cafe to reinfornce a transparent supply chain and maintain a short distance between producer and consumer. The cafe serves organic, ethical wine and food.

Serragli

Sbrino Gelatificio Contadino uses slow, seasonal ingredients from local farming families to craft delicious flavors of gelato. The gelateria is accountable for the taste from origin to cone.

Borgo

Via dei

SANTA CROCE

DITTA ARTIGIANALE

Via dei Neri

Ditta Artigianale is a micro-roastery that sustains an eco-conscious menu with high quality coffee that links their sustainable production to the end consumer.

Lungarno delle Grazie MELALEUCA

Melaleuca Bakery + Bistro serves homemade pastries, pies, coffee and more. The coffee is ethically sourced and the dairy is sourced from a local Tuscan farm.

CUCINA TORCICODA

Via Torta

San Paolino prioritizes gathering around a table with loved ones. They prepare their food with local regional products while combining traditional Tuscan and modern Italian cuisine.

SANT’AMBROGIO

MERCATO DI SANT’AMBROGIO

Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti

Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio retains it’s Tuscan roots through local specialties, a short supply chain and quality products. This market prioritizes their relationship with customers.

Largo Pietro Annigoni

Vivo ensures quality, ethically-sourced seafood through local, controlled Tuscan fish production. The restaurant supports local fisherman and transparency of the seafood supply chain.

ADAGIO

V VG

Via dei Macci

Adagio serves traditional, seasonal ingredients in the carefully selected cuisine. The menu has products from small local producers that considers a healthly well-being of the customer.

SAN FREDIANO

SANTAROSA BISTRO

Lungarno di Santa

Rosa

Santarosa Bistro serves a seasonal menu, rotating every three months. The drink menu features a selection of beer from a woman-owned sustainable local brewery.

WILD BUNS BAKERY

Via di Camaldoli

Wild Buns Bakery puts out handmade, artisan pastries and bread daily that uses seasonal flavors to create their menu. The coffee is ethically and sustainable sourced.

Borgo S. Frediano

BOrGO crafts the menu with a conscious mind. This spot is backed by gastronomic research. Quality is the most important aspect of the restaurant and no shortcuts are taken.

FLORENCE

Discover and enjoy slow food in this travel guide of the Tuscan town, Florence. Based on the Slow Food Movement philosophy, this guide prioritizes food that is good, clean, and fair. Eat and drink your way through handmade pasta, local meats and small-scale wines with this curated list of slow food spots.

Eat responsibly and eat with intention.

Locally-sourced

Seasonal ingredients

Organic farms

Nutritious recipes

Hand-cra ed

Short Supply Chains

Slow Food Editore