Italian journalist and local food advocate Carlo Petrini, best known for founding the Slow Food movement, died on May 21 at age 76 after a battle with prostate cancer.
A former political activist, Petrini started writing about food and wine in the late 1970s. He then became involved in food activism, taking part in the nationwide protests in 1986 against the opening of Italy’s first McDonalds in Rome. Three years later, Petrini founded the Slow Food movement.
Petrini remained committed to the Slow Food cause for the rest of his life. In 2004, he founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy, and received The United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions on the Earth Award in 2013.
Slow Food Atlanta continues Petrini’s work
“All of us involved with Slow Food Atlanta are deeply saddened by the passing of Carlo Petrini. His vision helped reshape the way so many of us think about food, farming, culture, and community,” said Julia LeRoy, Slow Food Atlanta co-chair and chef and owner of Everyday Alchemy and Produce & Provide.
Slow Food Atlanta formed in 2004, garnering a strong presence within Atlanta’s restaurant and farming communities. Each year, the Atlanta chapter recognizes the work of local restaurants, farmers, and suppliers with its Snail of Approval awards. The 2026 Snail of Approval winners included more than a dozen local restaurants, growers, and coffee shops “setting the standard for integrity, sustainability, and community impact across Georgia.”
“What began as a protest against fast food culture in Italy grew into a global movement rooted in the belief that food should be good, clean, and fair for all,” LeRoy told Rough Draft. “We are grateful for the movement he built, and will continue to honor his legacy through the work of Slow Food Atlanta, as we gather to support local farmers, makers, and regional food traditions.”
Hudson Rouse (Whoopsie’s, Pure Quill Superette, Babygirl) became involved with Slow Food Atlanta in 2006. He first learned about the Slow Food movement as a vendor at the East Atlanta Village farmers market. From there, Rouse met Chris Clinton and Isa Cooper from Crack in the Sidewalk Farmlet and was inspired to start his own garden at home.
“It was [at the farmers market] that I met Judith and Joe [Brown] from Love Is Love Farm and Jonathan Tescher,” Rouse said. “Each of them were deeply involved in the food scene.”
As a new father, Rouse did not want his children to grow up in fast-food culture.
“Food had always been a huge part of my life and my family‘s life and I wanted to continue that tradition with them. I was young and broke and fast food was more accessible, but we wanted to find another way to feed our kids,” he said. “To have this going on right down the street from my house really made me feel inspired.”
Rouse said all of the restaurants he worked with and trained in practiced Slow Food’s principles. He counts Slow Food Atlanta members like the late chef Angus Brown and The Deer and the Dove chef and owner Terry Koval among his peers. “Slow Food is the way I grew up eating in the way I wanted to cook when I had my restaurant, but it was a natural movement toward that direction,” he said.
Related story:
It’s serviceberry season. What the heck is a serviceberry?
Slow Food’s impact in Atlanta
Rouse, along with chefs like Koval, Kamayan ATL’s Mia Oriño and Carlo Gan, Twisted Soul’s Deborah VanTrece, and Miller Union’s Steven Satterfield, will carry on Petrini’s advocacy and support of local growers in Atlanta. It’s the easiest way, Rouse said, of ensuring restaurants provide fresh, clean, seasonal food to Atlanta diners.
As a personal tribute to Petrini, Rouse recently planted some pawpaw trees in his honor. With a creamy texture and flavor profile blending banana, mango, and vanilla, the pawpaw is the largest indigenous edible fruit tree in North America. Pawpaw trees are found growing from the Great Lakes to the Appalachian Mountains, and as far south as the Florida panhandle.
Rouse now counts himself among the pawpaw’s enthusiastic supporters and hopes to help Atlantans like himself rediscover the highly pest-resistant native fruit tree. It’s a mission that goes to the very heart of the work behind the Slow Food movement.
