University of Gastronomic Sciences – Dispatches

Lindsay Anderson, former Slow Food Calgary Planning Committee member, is enrolled in the University of Gastronomic Sciences. She is sending us dispatches from her immersion in Slow Food theory and practice…

dispatch #1

Ciao!  My name is Lindsay Anderson, and I recently began the Master in Food Culture and Communications program at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNSIG, a.k.a. the Slow Food University). This twelve-month program is based in Parma, Italy, and is made up of twenty-five international students. Rather than a culinary school, it is a place to academically study the many inter-connected roles that food play in the world, as well as develop skills in food journalism and photography. It is the program I have envisioned for years, perhaps since first realizing as a child that food meant more to me than just fuel. I discovered UNISG several years ago, could barely believe my luck that such a program existed, and at once began my pursuit of it.

A native of Prince George, BC, I graduated two years ago from the University of Victoria with a degree in Art History.  I have spent the last two years happily vagabonding around this and other continents, working in various food-related jobs.

The wonderful folks at Slow Food Calgary, whom I had the opportunity to learn from for six months while living there, have been kind enough to allow me to share my adventures with you over the next year. I’ll be writing updates on my experiences both in and out of the classroom; as part of the program, we’ll be visiting farmers and producers in various regions of Italy to see their work first-hand, as well as attending Slow Food events such as Terra Madre in Torino. Additional trips to Greece, Belgium and Spain will round out our education at various times throughout the year. I have no doubt that these experiences will yield more than one interesting story, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

One new thing I learned in Italy today?  Football (soccer) fans are louder than those of hockey, if you can believe it.  Until next time….

Feel free to write me with any questions or comments you have at lindsaylaurenanderson@gmail.com