Slow Food Nation '08

Saturday, August 30; 11am – 3pm; 5pm – 9pm | Sunday, August 31; 11am – 3pm; 5pm – 9pm | Cost: $45 – $65 | Fort Mason Center/Festival Pavilion

The Taste Pavilions were an unprecedented opportunity to sample America’s regional foods. Products from every state were hand-picked by nationally renowned experts and organized into 15 “Pavilions” housed in a 50,000 square-foot pier at Fort Mason. Each Pavilion served visitors two types of food plates – flights and snacks – and used photo displays and in-person demonstrations to show how the food was made. At some Pavilions, artisans made food on-site, e.g. at the Bread Pavilion, where bakers and pizzaiolos baked stuffed breads and pizzas outside on tandoori and wood-burning ovens. At every Pavilion, visitors had the opportunity to either taste a cross-section of traditional American foods – e.g. a selection of single-origin “bean to bar” chocolates crafted by top-notch independent Artisans from Missouri, California, Massachusetts and Utah – or sate their appetites with a heftier plate of regional food – e.g. a slice of warm skillet cornbread with aged country ham and Appalachian-style sour corn relish. Over a dozen of the Bay Area’s most celebrated architects worked pro-bono to turn each Pavilion into a creative environment for learning about good food.

The foods showcased at the Taste Pavilions were Beer, Bread, Charcuterie, Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee, Fish, Honey & Preserves, Ice Cream, Native Foods, Olive Oil, Pickles & Chutney, Spirits, Tea and Wine.

*A limited number of reduced-price and free tickets to the Taste Pavilions were made available for students, community activists, farmers, chefs and artisans.