Speakers
-
Myrtha ZierockFarmer and co-owner of family’s biodynamic wine estateMyrtha Zierock of Agricola Foradori farms in the Italian Dolomites of Northeastern Italy. She is the co-owner of her family’s biodynamic wine estate where, after spending 3 years learning and farming abroad in the US and Canada, she moved back to join her two brothers and mother to integrate what she had learned. At the wine estate she focuses on growing fall and winter crops under the canopy of the high-trellised vineyards. Even with the mild Italian winters, the biggest challenge is transplant timing due to the sunlight dropping behind the mountains in the early afternoon, interfering with crop growth and development. She grows a ton of radicchio and leafy brassicas and root vegetables. Half of her sales are through restaurants and the other half direct to consumer. Myrtha’s goal is to bring winter vegetables to the same level of appreciation as the wine her family produces.
-
Lane SelmanAgronomist
Lane Selman grew up on the citrus farm her Sicilian great-grandparents planted in 1919 on Florida’s space coast. She studied Agronomy (BS) and Entomology (MS) at University of Florida before moving to Oregon in 2000. As a Professor of Practice at Oregon State University, Lane has worked with organic vegetable and grain farmers, managed collaborative research projects, and executed marketing campaigns and outreach events for over 15 years. In 2011, Lane created the Culinary Breeding Network to build communities of plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, produce buyers, culinary professionals and other stakeholders to improve quality in vegetables and grains. Her work has been featured in the media including The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, Civil Eats, Food Tank, and Eating Well magazine. Lane lives in Portland, Oregon, USA
Location
Website
https://www.tcd.ie/Maps/map.php?b=58&i=b16Culinary Breeding Network: how to build community and execute impactful events
Main objective of the workshop:
During this session, CBN director Lane Selman (based in Portland, Oregon, USA) and CBN EU ambassador Myrtha Zierock of Azienda Agricola Foradori (based in Mezzolombardo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy) will share how they have successfully created networks and executed impactful events in the US and Italy. During this interactive workshop session, they will share ideas, successes, and challenges from their experiences which they hope attendees will use in their communities.
Short description of the workshop
The Culinary Breeding Network (CBN) strives to build communities of plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, bakers, retailers, distributors and others to improve quality in vegetables, fruits and grains. To achieve this goal, CBN creates unique opportunities for stakeholders and consumers to taste in-development vegetable and grain cultivars, share opinions, and be an active participant in the plant breeding process.
Since 2011, CBN has been creating connections within food communities and executing public events that aim to be engaging, educational and fun. Events focus on increasing awareness and understanding of the importance of seed, as well as celebrating seasonal foods – inspired by the Italian sagre – in local communities including Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Hawaii, New York, and Italy. The participatory CBN approach has resulted in new partnerships, collaborations and relationships among breeders, farmers, culinary professionals and eaters to create improved varieties with superior flavor and increase demand for local foods.
