The Alliance, in partnership with its sponsor Lavazza, welcomed well-known chefs from the catering and TV world, such as Valentine Warner (TV chef), Lukas Pfaff (Sartoria), Tom Hunt (Poco) and Richard Corrigan (Corrigan’s Mayfair, Bentley’s Oyster Bar), to the restaurant.

Richard Corrigan, chef spokesperson for the Slow Food UK’s Chef Alliance, said: “It was good to see so many members participating in the Chef Alliance lunch: chefs nowadays have huge media exposure and, with it, a great responsibility to endorse movements such as Slow Food, who champion good, sustainable and local products.

“We should all be promoting projects like the Ark of Taste and supporting campaigns such as Slow Meat and Slow Fish. It is all about knowing where your food comes from, its heritage and history, because ultimately, we are what we eat.”

Guests discussed the Slow Cheese campaign following recent consumer and media debate around raw milk. The Slow Fish campaign was also a key focus, currently supported by Lukas Pfaff who is proactively raising funds via a special Slow Fish sharing dish available at Sartoria throughout November, using wild and local sustainably-caught fish.

Additionally, the Slow Meat campaign due to kick off in the UK in 2015 was high on the agenda – this project will encourage the eating of less but better quality meat, while also driving awareness of increased animal welfare through small-scale production.

Lukas Pfaff, head chef at Sartoira, said: “Since joining Slow Food UK’s Chef Alliance back in 2013, I’m really proud to be part of such an important global movement, both delighted and honoured to host the Chef’s Alliance lunch at Sartoria.  It was great to see so many British based chefs actively supporting this vital cause to promote good quality and sustainably produced food.’’

The Slow Food UK’s Chef Alliance encourages British-based chefs in actively championing small-scale producers, and promoting good quality local and sustainably-produced food.