Page 93 - Almanacco_ENG_2014

Linkswww.slowfoodfoundation.com/ alliancewww.maroctaswiq.comsupply them. Chef Meryem Cherkaoui, one of the project’s pioneers, describes her passion and enthusiasm for com- municating the identity of Moroccan cuisine: “What’s essential is being able to exalt the products and use those from your local area. Why go in search of what we don’t have? The Earth was made well, we have to use the foods around us.”The Moroccan Alliance has contin- ued to grow and has even reached the palms of the Tagounite Oasis, at the edge of the desert. Once a strate- gic stopover along the trans-Saharan trade route, it is now a starting point for tours in the dunes. As well as cooking at the Restaurant du Sud, chef Habib Ballatif also organizes excursions to the desert during which he prepares traditional dishes for his guests. Ac- cording to him, it is important “to eatwell with little money,” and he believes in offering his customers, whether workers or tourists, a popular and ac- cessible cuisine: harira, chicken and lemon tajine, b’astela scented with ar- gan oil... He also insists on the impor- tance of raising awareness among the youngest generations and giving dig- nity to small-scale producers in order to encourage young people to return to the land of their elders, curbing the rural exodus that is endangering the area’s future. Participation in the Alli- ance between small-scale producers and chefs was therefore entirely natu- ral for him. It has also given him the chance to win over a number of pal- ates in Italy during international Slow Food events such as Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre 2012 in Turin, and Cheese, held in Bra in 2013... And this is just the beginning!93