Nominated for a 2024 James Beard Foundation award
Explore the heritage foods that distinguish the culinary landscape of the United States in this visual encyclopedia for curious eaters and gardeners.
The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of our food heritage and a movement to preserve gastronomic treasures passed down for generations—some rare, some endangered, all delicious. Created by Slow Food, the Ark illuminates the history, identity and taste of these unique food products, many of which were revived or saved from extinction by their Slow Food champions.
The Ark of Taste book features the stories of how some of these American products almost didn’t reach our table, with recipes from Slow Food chefs and profiles of growers from around the country.
In these pages you’ll learn about the revival of some of these foods, including:
- Carolina Gold Rice
- Wellfleet Oysters
- Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
- Christmas Lima Beans
- Tupelo Honey
- Bourbon Red Turkey
- Black Republican Cherries
- And more!
These products reflect the cultural and biological diversity and storied history of our country. In learning the tales of these treasures, we can join together to keep them in production and on our plates, while also championing a more equitable alternative to industrial agriculture.
Selected pages from The Ark of Taste
About the Ark of Taste
The Slow Food Ark of Taste initiative began in 1996 with a vision to preserve the vast biodiversity of foods that were at risk of extinction. Just like the biblical figure Noah built an ark and boarded animals two by two to save them from being eliminated by a widespread flood, Slow Food began to “board” seeds and animals, traditional recipes, and unique processes to the Ark of Taste to safeguard them. Today, more than 150 countries have boarded nearly 6,000 items to the Ark of Taste, including more than 300 in the United States through Slow Food USA.
About the authors AND ILLUSTRATOR
Giselle Kennedy Lord holds a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and was named James Beard National Scholar Northwest in 2018. Giselle became enamored with the Ark of Taste while working as the director of communications for Slow Food USA, where she championed the preservation of food culture and the importance of biodiversity. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Claudia Pearson has been illustrating her entire life and her work has been published internationally in magazines such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Elle and Travel & Leisure, as well as in her award-winning children’s book, Tribal Alphabet.