Study Trip to the Island of Crete
In Crete, the students will discover the island’s gastronomy during meetings with local experts and by participating in various events and cooking lessons, including on Greek savory pies in the kitchen of the Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC), at Mila, a restaurant dedicated to traditional and organic cooking, and on typical Cretan pâtés, sweets, fish, and local herbs, as well as festival foods. Various other visits are also planned to the Botanical Museum of Crete (with L. Andrianos), the Gonia monastery, the iconographic workshop of the OAC, the family business Ellinaki Argiro in Vouves (makers of xerotigana pastries, sesame products, and tagliatelle), the Vouves Olive Museum, the Wild Herbs of Crete distillery in Modi, and the botanical gardens. Another family business will demonstrate Plimakis feta production to the group, and later they will stop at the traditional butcher and dairy, Stavrianoudaki. Further visits include: the family bakery Pateromichalakis, the Chrysopigi monastery, an organic olive oil company, the Manousakis family winery, the Cretan brewery Harma in Lionakis, the BIOLEA company in Astrikas, a honey and rakomelo (spirits) producer in Georgakakis, the agricultural market in Pachiana, and the natural juice company Bioxym in Chania.
Study Trip to Germany
The trip to Germany begins with an introduction to the capital city of Berlin and a visit to the sustainable food fair Heldenmarkt, an urban tour with Youth Food Movement representative Hendrik Haase including meeting local food-scene bloggers and a bicycle trip to see the most famous monuments of Berlin. During the following days, the students will take part in activities including workshops and meetings on various themes like “the taste of Berlin” with food journalist U. Heinselmann, followed by a dinner and tasting of German wines. The group will also meet with M. Hoffman, winner of the German best chef award for 2010, at his restaurant Margaux, for a discussion about sustainability and his philosophy of cooking. Later, they will go on to meet with organizers of the Prinzessinnengärten, an urban agriculture project, followed by some work in the garden.
Additional lessons and events are also planned: a visit to Hirschfelde, a model village inspired by the Slow Cities project; a trip to a buffalo farm to meet with the leaders of the first international convivia (Germany and Poland); the Demeter Weichardt bakery; the brewery Berliner Kindl, followed by a lunch of Kasseler (traditional pork chops) and beer; the microbrewery Privatbrauerei am Rollberg; the Türkenmarkt (a Turkish market); the Rogacki Delikatessen, specializing in smoked fish; and to Kochhaus, a supermarket of food innovations. They will also meet with the association safeguarding the root vegetable Teltower Rübchen, visit the weekly Boxhagener Platz market with numerous regional food vendors, and stop by the organic brewery Braumanufaktur in Potsdam.
Study Trip to Ireland
The group of students going to Ireland has many activities on the schedule. At BIM, the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, they will participate in a lesson on fishing in Ireland, followed by a trip to the Ummera smokehouse and a lesson on organic smoked meats and fishery products. Hands-on lessons are also included: Ed Hick, a local butcher, will teach them about making sanguinaccio (blood sausage); a workshop on traditional Irish bread will be given by Derek and Maurice, professors from WIT; and lessons on dairy products will expose them to the riches of Irish yogurt, cream, and butter.
Other experts in organic food production will also be on hand: butcher T. J. Crowe and Peter Ward from Slow Food Tipperary will discuss the current situation and the future of organics in Ireland. The students will visit the Gold River organic farm, with lessons on organic fruit, vegetable, herb, and pig production, as well as the Carlow Craft brewery, the O’Brians bakery (where they will see the production of “blaa” bread), and a family of shepherds going back six generations in the mountains of Comeragh. Stops will also include the Butter Museum in Cork, the Franciscan Well brewery, a potato producer, and the English Market with geography professor Colin Sage.
In Cloughjordan, the group will visit an eco-village, a model for alternative energy production, eco-housing, local food production, sustainable communities, local governance, and the first biodynamic CSA project.
Study Trip to Albania
Among the stops on the Albanian study trip include a visit to the History Museum of Scutari, a visit to the local market to see regional products, and a workshop on aromatic herbs and medicinal plants. In the village of Bardhaj, the group will prepare and taste local teas, then meet with a small community of onion farmers in Dristhi, and stop by the trout fishery in Leze.
The group wil also meet with local experts including professor Troshain, dean of the Faculty of Economics of Scutari, who will discuss local tourism and development, Pavlin, on a local territorial recovery project and future goals, and a community of hazelnut producers in Rec. In Tamara, they will take part in several workshops on cooking (buke kolomoc, kacjmak, cheese, dried-meat soup) and tastings of infusions.
A number of excursions are also planned, including a bicycle trip to the village of Zogaj, near the lake of the same name, where they will meet regional artisans and take a boat trip with local fishermen.