Background

We have named ourselves Slow Food North Olympic Peninsula convivium to reflect both the geographic location and also to represent the ancient native traditions of our area which were marked by feasts of local food and a generosity of spirit and comradery borne of the abundance of the land and the waters of our area.

Our area of over 3500 square miles encompasses coastline, forest, mountains, streams, lakes, pastures and fields, each contributing to the bounty of our table. Native peoples have lived here for countless centuries, creating a “potlatch economy” and dubbing the phrase, still much in use today - “when the tide is out, the table is set.”

Our total population is approximately 100,000, with Jefferson County accounting for about 30,000 and Clallam County for 70,000. We have three main population centers, all on the Strait of Juan de Fuca - Port Townsend in Jefferson County and Sequim and Port Angeles in Clallam County. Port Townsend is on the National Historic Register as an example of a Victorian seaport and hence has a strong Victorian heritage as well. We count the chef/owners of many of its restaurants among our founding members. Sequim is a more agricultural area, with local wineries, lavender farms, and the town of Dungeness, after which our local crab was named, well within its sights. Port Angeles is the major port city of the Peninsula and its largest population center. We count one of its restaurateurs among our founding members.

All three cities have local wineries producing wines from grapes raised in eastern Washington, as well as small local breweries. All three cities also have their own farmers’ markets which operate during the summer and fall months. Port Townsend is home to a new artisan cheese maker - the Port Townsend Creamery, which makes and markets three highly regarded farmhouse cheeses - Cirrus, Seastack, and Trailhead. We have two active Native American tribes - the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe centered near Sequim and the Makah tribe west of Port Angeles.

The North Olympic Peninsula is home to a large shellfish and seafood industry. We are of course part of “salmon nation”, but our waters are also awash with steelhead, trout, cod, sea urchin, herring, smelt, rockfish, trout, char, sturgeon, Dungeness crab, clams, cockles, shrimp, oysters, and geoduck, and as well as a vast array of edible seaweeds. We are also home base for Alaskan Cape Cleare salmon, troll caught and frozen in Alaska and then brought here for sale.

Our forests produce fungi, including the chanterelle and morel mushrooms, as well as numerous wild berries, including the salmonberry, blackberry, elderberry, blueberry, salal berry, serviceberry, thimbleberry, elderberry, huckleberry, and currant. Stinging nettles, Oregon grape, miner’s lettuce, Nootka rose hips, and watercress grow wild throughout our area.

Our climate and soils combine to allow year round cultivation of foods for our table. One local farmer, Nash Huber who is a founding member of this convivium, grows 90 different organic fruits and vegetables on 300 acres of land in Clallam County - fava beans, carrots, cabbage, artichokes, kale, chard, melons, blueberries, strawberries, pumpkins, asparagus, onions, radishes, garlic, tomatoes, lettuces, peas, cucumbers, broccoli, squash - to name just a few. Nearby, sharing the rainshadow which bestows a sunny, dry climate on the Sequim area, are numerous lavender farms. Clallam County is also home to the Ozette potato, a new entry to the Ark of Taste. Both counties have many dairy farms.

We start this Slow Food convivium with a major objective of increasing food awareness through the pleasures of the table. We define food awareness very broadly - it encompasses an appreciation for the farmers, fishermen, and food processors who supply us with the food we eat; the recognition that farm land is at risk of being lost and needs to be preserved; that food is an important component of community as exemplified in Babette’s Feast; that our food needs to be produced in sustainable ways; and that the triumph of “Slow Food” over fast food is critical to the preservation of our planet and our individual health.

In addition, we want to explore and preserve the roots of our regional cuisine by reaching out to our native community to learn about ancient foods and food preparation methods which are part of our Peninsula’s culture and tradition. We want to educate our community and the grocery stores, markets, restaurants, schools, and other institutions that feed us to the importance of making local food the centerpiece of our diets. We want to use food to increase awareness of our sense of place in the world. We want to make our Peninsula a place where its inhabitants many generations into the future will enjoy a potlatch economy of delicious, nutritious, plentiful local “slow food”.