A great Albanian delegation at the Slow Food Messe in Stuttgart

From April 13 to 16 Slow Food Germany will hold its annual Fair in Stuttgart, now at its 16th edition. For four days, the focus will be on regional, sustainable and artisan food. Visitors can meet producers and food artisans from many different countries who share Slow Food values and projects, listen to their stories and taste their products. Slow Food in Albania, with the support of the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and VIS Albania, will participate with a great delegation in order to showcase national biodiversity and products. Within the delegation there will be two chefs part of the Slow Food Cooks Alliance, two Slow Food Presidia and many products which are already on board of the Slow Food Ark of Taste.

Visitors at the Slow Food Messe will have a unique occasion to taste Albanian dishes prepared by two chefs part of the Slow Food Cooks Alliance, discover two Slow Food Presidia and many products which are already on board of the Slow Food Ark of Taste, Slow Food projects who try to save endangered products.

Frida Krifca, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Albania, will participate in the Slow Food Messe opening together with the German Ministry.

Here you are the list of Albanian producers and chefs present at the Stuttgart Messe.

Chefs

• Altin Prenga is one of the founders of Slow Food in Albania and part of the Slow Food Cooks Alliance. He owns an agro tourism in Fishtë called “Mrizi i Zanave“. Altin is also the founder and representative of the Slow Food Fishta Convivium, the first in Albania. Together with his family, they created a farm based on short supply chains, with a focus on the naturalness of the product and respect for seasonality and traditions, with an added innovation in the processing of raw materials.
• Urim Jaçe from Slow Food Përmet is a chef part of the Slow Food Cooks Alliance in Albania, who will activate the cooking corner at the Fair. Urim founded and manages the “Antigonea” restaurant in Permet, which promotes special products such as Salsa in the sack, produced in the mountain pastures of the protected area of Bredhi i Hotoves. He will also present the Përmet Gliko Slow Food Presidium, a compote made from many different fruits and vegetables which is an important element of the local cuisine.
• Manjola Shehaj is a representative of Slow Food Gjirokastra. She has a typical traditional restaurant in Gjirokaster called “Edua Gjirokastër (I love Gjirokastër) and at the fair in Germany she will introduce the typical dishes of her area, prepared with Slow Food Ark of Taste products. She is an important activist for the Slow Food network in southern Albania.
• Dhurata Thanasi Daneri is the owner of the “Luga e Argjendtë” restaurant in Tirana and she is also a well-known activist working on spreading education projects within the new generation on traditional and healthy cooking.

Producers

• Flora Sali from Slow Food Përmet will bring her famous Bedunice honey to the event, which has recently been certified also as with STG by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• Agron Çakalli from Slow Food Elbasan will showcase the extra virgin oil VALMI, produced by the Elbasan Agricultural Federation. This cooperative enhances the Kokërr Madh olive of Elbasan, a typical variety which is a part of the Slow Food Ark of Taste.
• Drita Tanazi will represent the Slow Food Mishavinë Presidium from the Kelmendi area, recently certified with STG by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Drita is also one of the first Slow Food activists in Albania and stimulates the enhancement of the gastronomic typicalities of the Albanian Alps to make its territories a unique and special touristic destination.
• Jonida Shano & Enri Çollaku from Slow Food Pogradec will be present at the stand with a number of traditional products from the area. Jonida is also an Albanian journalist and currently active at the Italian NGO COSV in a rural development and territorial enhancement project.
• Gjovalin Hasanaj from Slow Food Malësi e Madhe represents the “Baxho Veleçiku”, a farm that produces several typical types of cheeses flavored with medicinal plants and forest fruits. “Baxho Veleçiku” has now become known for the typical recipe of the Malesia e Madhe boiled cheese, which has been part of the Ark of Taste since 2013. In January of this year, the boiled cheese has also been certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as STG.

• Sonila Hoxholli, from Slow Food Malësi e Madhe, represents VIS Albania, a non-profit association that has been operating in Albania since 1994. VIS Albania will be represented by 2 representatives and a variety of Slow Food products. Sonila is one of the first who has accompanied the Slow Food journey in Albania since the ESSEDRA project, and is a point of contact for all the activists and producers of the network.

The first steps of the Albanian Slow Food network are to date in 2010, when the first activists, Altin Prenga from “Mrizi i Zanave” and Pier Paolo Ambrosi from VIS established the first Slow Food Convivium. From there on, thanks to the engagement of numerous Albanian activists and the coordination of the Italian NGO VIS, numerous Slow Food initiatives have been organized in Albania and abroad, with the constant involvement and support also of the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with an important participation also at the last Salone del Gusto 2022 in Turin. The participation of some producers and activists is possible thanks to the project “Laghi d’Albania: promozione di modelli di turismo sostenibile e responsabile per lo sviluppo inclusivo delle comunità” (Lakes of Albania: promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism models for the inclusive development of communities) (AID 012590/02/1) financed by AICS (Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo – Italian Agency for Development Cooperation).

For more information: https://www.messe-stuttgart.de/marktdesgutengeschmacks/

Slow Food Presidia in Albania: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/nazioni-presidi/albania-it/

Slow Food Ark of Taste in Albania: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/

Here you can download the book presenting the Ark of Taste in Albania: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/the-ark-of-taste-in-albania-book/

Slow food Cooks Alliance in Albania: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/nazioni-alleanza/albania-en/

Slow Food Convivia and Communities in Albania: http://localhost/slowfood/nazioni-condotte/albania/

Pictures available here: https://imagelibrary.slowfood.it/categories