CHEESE 2013 - SHOWCASING BALKANS

Cheese 2013 Program Online at http://cheese.slowfood.it/en/

Showcasing the Balkans

It’s happening in Bra (Piedmont, Italy) from September 20 to 23: The ninth edition of Cheese, the international biennial event organized by the City of Bra and Slow Food with the participation of the Italian Ministry for Agricultural Policy. The event dedicated to “milk in all its shapes and forms” has created an international network of cheesemakers and artisans who gather in Bra every two years to present their products, meet co-producers and discuss old and new challenges of the trade, existing laws and regulations and market prospects. Among the protagonists of this edition are seven Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia) and Turkey, all involved in the ESSEDRA project.

Launched in December 2012, the ESSEDRA project aims to support the EU integration process by strengthening the capacity of and giving a voice to civil society organizations in the Balkans and Turkey working in the fields of agriculture, rural development and food quality, thereby improving environmental protection and defending biodiversity and the sustainable well-being of local communities. Support will be given to identify and evaluate traditional local products, and to promote European policies in favor of small-scale food producers.

Not to be missed at Cheese 2013 is the conference about local cheeses from the region, an authentic expression of the rural society. The discussion will cover raw-milk cheeses aged in sheepskin or in fir bark and different feta cheeses, but also goat, cow and sheep yogurts and every shape of caciocavallo, and will end with a tasting of cheeses from the eight countries involved.

As well as an educational and cultural event, helping consumers to identify quality and bringing them into contact with cheesemakers and farmers, Cheese is also a opportunity for fun, with learning always accompanied by the pleasure of tasting or discovering. This edition features many Taste Workshops, where participantscan find out more about the stories and traditions of local communities, from the Balkans to Swiss herders, from the Pokot of Kenya to Caucasian nomads.

On the regularly updated website http://cheese.slowfood.it, available in Italian and English, visitors can book their place for the activities, find useful information and see the list of exhibitors.

Cheese 2013 has been made possible thanks to Pastificio Garofalo, Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano, Lavazza, Lurisia and Novamont.

 

Cheese 2013 Press Office

Slow Food International: Paola Nano, +329 8321285 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

City of Bra: Raffaele Grillo – Elena Martini +39 0172 438278, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.slowfood.com  -  www.comune.bra.cn.it