My four days in Turin, Italy: Terra Madre 2026
I have been home from Italy for close to a month, and I am still unpacking. We have all been there.
My suitcases and Italian goodies were easy, however, I am still sorting through everything else: the connections, the flavors, the people, and the extraordinary, wonderful feeling of standing in a crowd of people from every corner of the world who care about food systems the way I do.
This was my second time traveling in September to Turin for Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. I want to tell you about it. It is going to take more than one post.
Why I went
I went as a voting delegate, alongside Gabriela Wan from Slow Food Denver. A few members of our Boulder community traveled to Italy, as well; Chef Daniel Asher, Claudia and Ted Steen of Pastificio Boulder, and Emma Christy of Moxie Bread Co enjoyed the sites, flavors and vibes of Turin, as well.
I brought so much of the spirit of Boulder County me, including our farmers, millers, chefs and bakers who are caring for Snails and helping to support a healthy local food system. And a question I could not quite answer from home: how does a small chapter in Colorado fit into a movement this big, and what are we missing by staying local?
What Terra Madre is
Every two years, Slow Food brings its global network to Turin. Terra Madre is part market, part classroom, and part family reunion. Producers, cooks, Indigenous leaders, researchers, activists, and curious eaters come together to taste, trade knowledge, and talk honestly about what it will take to keep food good, clean, and fair.
This year's gathering ran from September 24 to 27, assembling in the historic center of the city. Piazza San Carlo, Piazza Castello, and the streets between them became one long walkable festival. You could step out of a workshop, cross a square, and find yourself in conversation with a producer, farmer, artist, chef, author or an advocate that brings a new level of appreciation of food you never even thought of before.
This was the first Terra Madre without Carlo Petrini, who founded the movement and passed away in May of 2026. His presence was missing, but he was certainly with us. Larger than life photographs, speeches from Italian heads of state, the food in the markets, and most importantly how people spoke about his impactful work.
The theme was Real Connections for Real Change. I walked in thinking that was a nice slogan. I walked out understanding it as a set of instructions.
What I want to tell you about
Four days is not enough time to take it all in, and one post is not enough to tell it. So, this is the start of a short series. Here is where we are headed.
Being a delegate. About 1,500 delegates came from more than 120 countries. I want to share what that role asks of you, and what it felt like to represent Boulder County in that company.
The workshops. Some of my biggest lessons happened around a tasting table, listening to the people who grow and make the food explain why it matters. I will go deeper into what I learned and who I learned it from.
The market. The streets were lined with producers from across Italy and around the world, many of them guarding foods that could disappear without them. Their stories deserve more than a sentence each.
The people. I do not speak Italian, and I worried about that before I left. It mattered far less than I expected. Between translation apps, shared plates, and a lot of hand gestures, I had some of the best conversations of my life.
What I brought home
If I had to name one thing, it would be a sense of scale. Our chapter is small. The network we belong to is enormous, and it is full of programs and people passionate about good systems. I came home wanting Slow Food Boulder County to reach further, continuing for build our Snail of Approval program, improving our workshops for our communities and bolstering the Cooks Alliance and Slow Food Farms programs.
Real connections start now.
I hope you will follow along. And if you were also in Turin, or you want to know how to get involved with Slow Food beyond Boulder County, I would love to hear from you.
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