Eating the Slow Way
By Diana Bocco
At a time when other 16-years-olds are thinking about sports, girls, or school pressure, Chef Claudio Urciuoli was already in the kitchen. In fact, he had been there for two years, first as a student at the IPSA cooking school in Liguria, Italy, and then building a career in a series of hotels and resorts across Italy and Switzerland. By the time he moved to California at the age of 23, Urciuoli was already a seasoned chef.
Urciuoli is now the executive chef at Taggia at the FireSky Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, and he has also become well-known for his support of the Slow Food Movement. This project backs local farmers and instills a belief that the food we eat should taste good and be produced in a clean, healthy way that does not harm the environment or our health.
It was, in fact, his early attachment to the Slow Food Movement that led to Urciuoli’s concern with healthy school lunches. “When my daughter started kindergarten, I realized that the school system didn’t pay enough attention to the food that they provide for their students,” he says. He was so concerned that the school’s kitchens consisted mostly of frozen foods and were not prepared with fresh ingredients, that when his daughter entered kindergarten, he went to the school on several occasions and made pizza for the children.
“In Italy, the school’s dining areas are much different,” Urciuoli says. “The children are served in a proper way—by cooks with established nutritional backgrounds who understand what nutrients and vitamins children need. They are served balanced, healthy meals.”
With that in mind, Urciuoli set out to educate parents about what they can do to make their children eat healthier, starting by integrating them to the process itself. “It could be by growing gardens with vegetables in the schools, implementing food education classes where chefs do cooking demonstrations, etc.,” he says. “It’s really important to have children understand what they are eating and to be educated on the preparation of food and where to find seasonal ingredients.”
By making food part of their cultural richness, Urciuoli hopes that children will understand the importance of making time to eat and enjoy their meals instead of rushing through them.
As for parents, Urciuoli believes they can help by including three basic elements in their child’s lunch: fruits, vegetables, and bread. ”I like to prepare my daughter’s meals the night before,” he says. “I suggest seasonal fruit, some form of vegetables such as carrots, celery, baby tomatoes, beets, etc.—anything that can be eaten without dressing. Sandwiches with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, tuna with beans, rice salad, lentil salad, Faro salad and pasta salad. I prepare the pasta the night before with a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil. Also, it’s important to have a good bread—I usually give my daughter whole-grain bread.”
Urciuoli also suggests adding some kind of fruit juice mixed with a little bit of water—something that is full of nutrients and vitamins. And then, there is the art and custom of cuisine.
“Above all, we should remember that there is a strong connection between plate and planet and that it’s our responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition, and culture,” he says.