A day for nan and granda

NOW that I am a grandmother with seven precious grandchildren, I am more aware of the importance of passing on some life skills to the next generation. They all live within 15 minutes of us so we are fortunate to see them almost every day.

Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day are both celebrated with cards and flowers, but what about grandparents? I mentioned the idea to my friend Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkley in California.

She is a wannabe grandmother who is deeply passionate about the importance of teaching children how to grow and cook. We talked to Lilia Smelkova of Slow Food Italy she loved the idea and felt it a ought to be an international Slow Food event, so Alice and I proposed the idea of the first Slow Food Grandmothers’ Day at Terra Madre in Turin in October 2008.