A sustainable wedding? It’s Slow and it’s scrumptious

Slow food CEO gets married with all the trimmings

Every bride wants her big day to be representative of her personality and passions. Bridal parties are increasingly looking for ways in which to impress and delight guests at the Wedding Breakfast.

There is no better bride to showcase this trend in a very sustainable way than CEO of Slow Food UK, Catherine Gazzoli who married in Fruili, Italy in May. 

As the UK figurehead and driving force behind a movement that supports small and forgotten producers across the UK, Catherine was determined to ensure that the small, artisan producers surrounding the location of her Italian wedding were given a starring role in front of 100 guests.

A huge number of brides choose to wed in relatively unfamiliar locations in abroad in order to take advantage of a particularly beautiful venue or fortuitous weather conditions.  Creating a wedding menu that considers local producers and delicacies can do wonders for the overall effect of the wedding.

In terms of the catering, Catherine hired a talented and renowned local chef, known for his sensitivity to sustainability and small producers. Claudio de Stefano, is co-founder of ‘Il Platina’, the appointment only restaurant that serves specialist dishes of Fruili.  Catherine and Claudio devised a mouth-watering menu for the wedding, whilst the award-winning chef made sure he was also on hand to give guests tutorials on the cuisine the following day.

The wedding menu:

• Aperitif and starters buffet
• Friulian charcuterie corner
• San Daniele crudo, 18 months aged, cut with a manual "Berkel" slicer
• Smoked "D’Osvaldo" crudo
• Smoked ham from Trieste, baked in a bread crust, with horseradish
• Pitìina from the "Tramontina" valley
• Little toasts with herb encrusted ‘lardo’ from Sauris

Cheese corner

• Asìno cheese, served on a spoon
• Variety of goat cheeses from Pinzano
• Praline of ricotta from Enemonzo in a walnut crust
• Crunchy "Frico" (crispy cooked cheese)
• Braid of buffalo mozzarella
• Selection of cheeses from Friuli: "frant", drunk "Sot la trape", refined in hay and beer aromatics
• Grana Padano Riserva

Friulian finger food

• Tòc in braide (soft polenta, cheese fondue, smoked ricotta)
• "Frico" (molten cheese with potatoes and onions)
• Baked olives stuffed with Montasio cheese
• Vegetables
• Varieties of smoked trout "Regina di San Daniele"
• Little slices of trout in corn crust
• "Pin" squids
• Delicate baby shrimps from the Adriatic
• Red tuna from Carloforte (San Pietro island) tartar
• Smoked raw scampi

Veggie corner:

• Asparagus and eggs salad
• Asparagus with a yoghurt and herbs sauce
• Asparagus salad with tomatoes and olives
• Asparagus and baby zucchini salad with balsamic vinegar

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Italian style risotto with herbs and formadi frant cheese fondue, served in a crispy cheese basket
Ravioli stuffed with scallops and prawns on a cherry tomatoes sauce
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"Julia" apple sorbet
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Pork tenderloin in a soft thyme crust with pink pepper sauce
Seasonal vegetables
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Desserts buffet

• Wedding cake
• Fresh fruit
• Panna cotta with "Nonino" grappa and coffee, blown Bavarian cream with Picolit wine, chocolate mousse
• "Gubana" from Cividale, "strucchi", Friulian cookies, walnuts tart

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Coffee and spirits

The sustainability theme does not stop with the food.  It seemed absurd to Catherine that after such consideration on the food that hundreds of beautiful flowers would be thrown away after just one day.

Each table instead will have a selection of potted herbs on the table, which can then be planted by the guests in their gardens or window – boxes at home. A tasty and lasting reminder of the special day.  

• Rosmarino (Rosemary)
• Salvia (Sage)
• Salvia-ananas (Sage-Pineapple)
• Salvia farinacea (Sage)
• Basilico (Basil)
• Basilico Greco (Greek Basil)
• Mirto (Myrth)
• Origano (Oregano)
• Timo (Thyme)
• Timo citronella (Citron Thyme)
• Maggiorana (Marjoram)
• Menta (Mint)
• Menta – Liquirizia (Mint Licorice)
• Lavanda (Lavender)

Further info:http:// http://www.slowfood.org.uk/

Valere Tjolle
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