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A Guide to Goodness

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It started out like many projects that the Institute for Tourism Studies initiates for their Tourism Event Management students.  Every year the second year students are put in charge of organising an award ceremony that rewards restaurants, pastry shops and private kitchens in Macau that follow the three Slow Food principles of ‘Clean, Good and Fair’.  Food that is ‘clean’ is grown with little or no pesticide use.  
 
At the end of August 2012, the 43 students of Year 2, Class B of Tourism Event Management were given a brief by their professor Dr. Baudouin Neirynch.  It had several components.  They had four months to conduct research on local eateries that followed the Slow Food philosophy, and then plan and design an event that these restaurants could attend to showcase some of their signature dishes, and finally host the Awards Gala Dinner.
 
After conducting research into local eateries that follow the Slow Food philosophy, they drew up a list of organisations.  The students then handled everything for the event from marketing, food and beverage, sales, logistics and IT. The event welcomed over 300 people with live performances, taste education booths and involvement of a number of charity organisations ensuring a highly successful day.  
 
Later, the students continued their research by visiting all the restaurants to canvass customer satisfaction.  Results were combined with voting gathered through social media on the list of award candidates.  The Macau Slow Food Awards Gala Dinner was then held and the winners announced in six categories: Best Chinese Slow Food Restaurant; Best Western Slow Food Restaurant; Most Popular Slow Food Restaurant; Best Asian Slow Food Restaurant; Best Pastry Shop and Best Private Kitchen.
 
And that, usually, would have been the end of it, job done.  
 
But this year things got a little different when Baudouin suggested that students might like to think about taking their research a step further and having their findings published.  He got the idea while at the Salon del Gusto in Turin, Italy.  This international gathering displays an extraordinary diversity of food from all continents, and unites small-scale farmers and artisans from around the world who follow the principles of good, clean and fair production – food that is defined not only by excellent taste, but also environmental sustainability and social justice.
 
He noted that some cities and countries published their own Slow Food guide books, and decided to get some more mileage out of the research the students were doing.  
 
 
“And the beauty of IFT is that they are so supportive of good ideas and they said yes to the book immediately,” says Baudouin.
 
Ably led by classmates Ken Wong as General Manager and Dorothy Lok, Deputy General Manager, the 43 students began the job of creating the guidebook.  There was a lot of trial and error and yes, even some tears and emotions along the way.  
 
“In the beginning we thought it should be very easy but no!” exclaims Dorothy. “None of us had experience writing or producing a book!”
 
“We made countless discoveries and at times it was a painful process,” Ken adds. 
 
Working with graphic designers on the layout and cover, finding sponsors and negotiating with printing companies were just some of the challenges.
“Some of the sponsors didn’t have any artwork for their advertisements so our colleagues on the IT team stepped in and did this,” Dorothy explains.  “Our logo for the book was also designed by the IT team – it is a stylized 2012 combined with the Slow Food snail logo”.
 
When the 2,500 copies of the guide book finally arrived, the reaction was big smiles and elation amongst the students, as they held in their hands the culmination of all their hard work.
 
The book is an easy-to-carry size with good quality gloss finish to its 100 or so pages.  A handy content tab guide down the right hand side is provided for easy navigation of the 48 restaurants featured.  Each restaurant is given a double-page spread full of photos taken by the students.  And in all cases there are thumbnail pictures of the two or three students who personally researched and wrote about that specific restaurant.
 
Looking back, what do Ken and Dorothy feel were the key learning points of this exciting but nerve wracking exercise?  
 
 “Managing a team of 40 different opinions was a challenge. Managing frustrations, misunderstandings and making the tough decisions for the good of the project was as much a task as technical management!” notes Ken.  
 
“Learning to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses, knowing when to ask for help and when to delegate, knowin who your team is and how to adjust your own behaviour as a leader,” adss Dorothy.
 
The students are also delighted that the Macau Government Tourist Organization (MGTO) – for the first time – has added the Macau Slow Food Awards event to their annual calendar – a huge vote of confidence in everyone’s efforts.  
 
“A foundation has been created for future issues of the guidebook,” says a delighted Baudouin.  “Going forward to the next year of students, it’s likely that the book will be doubled in size.”  
 
And Baudouin hopes that a smart phone application in-the-making can be used instead of hard copy print, which would be more in keeping with the Slow Food principles of environmentally friendly practices.
 
Read more about the IFT Slow Food Guide Book 2012 on Facebook events page – macauslowfood2012
 
Belgian national Dr. Baudouin Neirynch is the President of the Macau Slow Food Association.  This association is part of an international movement founded in the late 1980s in Italy by journalist Carlo Petrini in reaction to the opening of the first of many fast food restaurants in his home town Rome.  
 
The Slow Food principles are ‘Clean, Good and Fair’.  Food that is ‘clean’ is grown with little or no pesticide use.  Food that is ‘good’ is preferably produced locally to minimise the carbon footprint and prepared using traditional cooking methods and ingredients.  Food that is ‘fair’ means that the producer receives a fair share of the selling price.
 
Today, counting more than 100,000 members across 130 countries, the movement advocates the defence of the bio diversity, the building of a strong network among food producers, chefs, students and end-users, and a move towards taste education.
 
Suzanne Watkinson is Managing Director of property company Ambiente Macau.  A trained chef and a hotel and club manager in her previous life, she is a regular contributor to Macau CLOSER on food and beverage, personalities and events in Macau.
 
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