Bibimbap in Milan

Che cosa The first edition of Bibimbap dealt with organic food. The aim was to learn, to know, discover, and change (if necessary) some paradigms of the organic food sector, as well as to innovate its communication processes, to reduce the distance between the production and consumption field and to promote the knowledge of Real Food. Who The event was organized in partnership with Alce Nero, well-known organic food producer with the willingness to find solutions to the main problems affecting the organic food sector and the traditional perception of consumer. Apart from the main partner, Bibimbap also involved a large number of stakeholders: -Farmers and produce partners of the Alce Nero Group, more specifically Alce Nero producers of extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes and pasta. -Mentors coming from different fields. -Professors. -Workers in the sector. -Students coming from the most varied fields of specialization. All the categories showed themselves very committed to the event. On the one hand, producers express an extremely inspiring view of their work, describing it with three key words: respect, passion and love. On the other hand, food experts, particularly marketing and communication ones, raise the problem concerning the lack of communication between organic food producers and consumers and the too spread association of organic food with something exclusively healthy, far from happiness and flavor. In this sense we can say that the mentors set the main challenge, that’s to say how to build bridges between organic food producers and consumers?. The event ended with the performance of the storyteller and food hacker Nick Difino, a FooDj that will deal with the output and the presentation of the projects, as well as with the selection of the best projects. Where/When The event took place Friday, April 11th 2014, from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm in Superstudio 13, Via Forcella 13, during the Milano Design Week. Outputs (Prototypes and Winning Projects) The outputs were both tangibles and intangibles. The tangible ones were the final prototypes: organic market and lab to educate, show, buy and cook organic food; an itinerant bread workshop; a marketing campaign; an app that turns organic food into something cool and tasty. The intangible ones were the high level of crowd engagement and the willingness to join and trigger a process of renewal. Prizes The prizes of the first edition were First Prize – 2 night stay at a Libera Terra farmhouse or at an agritourism belonging to the partner network of the Alce Nero Group. For all participants and Mentors/Facilitators: an Alce Nero gift Kit containing a copy of “Cibo Vero – Storie di Passione per la Terra” and a Recipe Book. written by Mariana Mea