Savoring Food, Farms & Markets of Mexico

Local farmers market organization hosts tour to visit like-minded markets, farmers and food artisans of central Mexico

San Francisco, CA, July 2, 2008 -- CUESA, the San Francisco nonprofit that operates the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, will be conducting a tour exploring food, farming and market traditions of Oaxaca and Puebla, Mexico, on February 28-March 8, 2009. The farmers, food artisans, chefs and markets in these two regions are leaders in supporting traditional farming practices, using fresh seasonal products, and maintaining local food traditions.

Market tours will include fruit and vegetable, flower, live animal, and crafts markets. Farm tours will include a visit to a traditional small farm growing endangered heritage food crops. Other food highlights will include dining at restaurants featuring both seasonal traditional and nouvelle cuisine, lunch on a Pueblan farm, sharing snacks with members of the local Slow Food chapter, and enjoying a cooking demonstration of Oaxacan black mole and barbacoa.

Beyond the food, farm and market explorations of this journey, travelers will also have opportunities to enjoy the cultural heritage of these regions. The itinerary includes guided tours of Cholula Pyramid, the pre-Columbian ruins at Monte Alban, ethnobotany gardens featuring culinary and medicinal herbs and flowers, and demonstrations of making Puebla tile, Oaxacan black pottery and weavings.

CUESA Executive Director Dave Stockdale will host this tour and proceeds will support CUESAs education programs, including Bay Area farm tours. The in-country journey will be lead by American-born guide Toni Sobel, who has lived in Oaxaca more than 30 years since first arriving to complete her PhD at Stanford. More information is available online at www.cuesa.org or by calling 415 291-3276. The tour is limited to 20 persons and the sign-up deadline is December, 2008.

The tour will again be produced by Santa Rosa based Food & Wine Trails. Food & Wine Trails is the educational tour division of HMS Travel Group, and organized last years CUESA trip to Spain. The company specializes in creating educational group programs for the countrys top food and wine organizations, and works with such clients as Robert Mondavi, Beringer and Kosta Browne wineries, culinary schools such as the Culinary Institute of America and groups like UC Berkeley and the American Wine Society.

CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, is a San Francisco-based nonprofit whose mission is to promote a sustainable food system through the operation of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Markets and its educational programs. CUESA operates markets at the historic Ferry Building year-round on Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., and Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and presents a wide array of educational programs and special events, and also maintains an extensive web site and produces a weekly informational eletter.