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Two trailblazers in the food and travel arenas (which just so happen to be two of our favorite arenas) announced a coupling today: Airbnb and Slow Food are teaming up to create six custom culinary experiences during the Slow Food Nations festival, which takes over downtown Denver on July 19–21. Based on the success of its Airbnb Experiences, the company is adding sustainable food adventures to its roster. Denver’s Slow Food Social Impact Experiences will be the first in the series, with plans to expand programming globally later this summer.
The exclusive dinners, workshops, and screenings pair food fanatics with their culinary heroes, including James Beard Award-winning chefs Alex Seidel (Mercantile Dining & Provision, Fruition) and Steven Satterfield (Atlanta’s Miller Union), beer scholar Dr. J Jackson-Beckham, and local culinary stars Caroline Glover (Annette) and Paul C. Reilly (Coperta, Beast & Bottle, Pizzeria Coperta).
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“Slow Food was so much fun last year,” Glover says. “It brings so many cool people and thoughts to Denver. That was the idea behind doing this mash-up. The Airbnb component is just the cherry on top.”
Highlights include Farmers Market Coffee & Conversation (July 20; $25) with Seidel and Satterfield, where you’ll dig around the Union Station Farmers Market with the two chefs and ask all of your burning food sourcing and cooking questions over coffee and pastries; Slow Food Craft Beer Experience with Dr. J (July 18; $120) when you can tour three breweries with the beer expert; and the Row 7 Guest Chef Dinner VIP Experience (July 18; $175) for a meet-and-greet and vegetable-centric meal (with wine pairings) cooked by Glover, Reilly, and Satterfield; a signed copy of Satterfield’s cookbook, Root to Leaf, is included.
Slow Food Social Impact Experiences range in price from $18 to $175, and they’re all bookable right now at airbnb.com.
Bonus: As of last week, local chefs began gearing up for Slow Food Nations by featuring a special dish or drink on their restaurant menus that highlights a product from Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, a catalogue of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. You can help keep those foods—including aromatic Carolina Gold Rice and benne oil—on our plates and get a sneak taste of the festival by ordering these special dishes through July 19 at these participating restaurants.
