What is Terroir?
Photo: Ash Naylor Photography
Terroir is an ideology that revolves around people and places. It encompasses our environments, our histories, our politics and our religions. It’s our shared culture.
“WHEN WE EXAMINE FOOD CULTURES THROUGH THEIR REGIONS WE’RE AFFORDED A PERSPECTIVE INTO THE PAST AND A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE THROUGH THE INGREDIENTS, TECHNIQUES AND TRADITIONS AT WORK.”
Terroir is most notability defined through our foodways. The meals we share tell the story of our identity, so that what we eat can define who we are. When we examine food cultures through their regions we’re afforded a perspective into the past and a glimpse of the future through the ingredients, techniques and traditions at work. There is no constant, only a momentary look at the migration of people and how their landscape shaped their identity.
Photo: Ash Naylor Photography
Through the Terroir organisation’s work, we focus on how food provides not just sustenance, but a much bigger insight into our societies. Our programs delve deep into the interconnected nature we as humans have with our natural environments, as well as with our own pasts, which together serve to preserve or manipulate our sense of identity and our sense of place.
“USING FOOD AS A PORTAL TO UNDERSTAND OUR CULTURES’ SHARED PASTS AND INTERCONNECTIVITIES BUILDS BRIDGES AND CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.”
In modern times thanks to society’s increased fascination with food, there is a growing interest in food systems. With this appeal comes a unique opportunity to engage people and places to use food as a diplomatic tool. The power of hosting people around a table creates a conversational dialogue rooted in empathy and understanding. But more than this, using food as a portal to understand our cultures’ shared pasts and interconnectivities builds bridges and creates opportunities for future development. Food, in this respect, is one of the most powerful diplomatic tools we have.
Photo: Julian Redondo Bueno
“BY BRINGING TOGETHER DIFFERENT CULTURES, FOSTERING UNDERSTANDING, AND CREATING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLENTY OF SHARED MEALS, WE CAN CONNECT AND CREATE A MORE CONVIVIAL REALITY.”
Terroir hopes that by bringing together different cultures, fostering understanding, and creating the opportunities for plenty of shared meals, we can connect and create a more convivial reality. We’re building an international food community that’s helping to shape the food systems of the future, and we look forward to many more meals, discussions, and common connections in 2019.
Arlene Stein, Terroir Hospitality Founder & Director