Fifth stop: Building a food education brand
Agua Chou explains that her company’s efforts in Taitung food education were about “how to make outsiders see what Taitung has to offer, and help Taitung’s own people recognize what’s here.”
“Taitung really has a lot of food capital, a true abundance, but it isn’t immediately obvious.” If you visit, you’ll find a number of crops that are uncommon elsewhere in Taiwan, such as gac (Momordica cochinchinensis), Valencia oranges (Citrus sinensis ‘Valencia’), and Japanese scallions (Allium chinense), which many people mistakenly think are unique to Japan. AGUA Design’s goal is to raise awareness of Taitung’s “food power.”
An AGUA team conducted a field survey in the Rift Valley last year, documenting the passage of the seasons and using it to create an illustrated guide titled “Fooding Taitung 365.” The team also published video clips and a book, 15 Taitung Recipes Learning Before 15, for which they invited experts to design menus. The team then distributed the book to Taitung children under the age of 15 so they could cook the delicious dishes for themselves.
An online event launched this year explores delicious and healthy recipes for people from zero to 100 years old. For this project, the editors invited people involved with fine food in Taitung to share what they eat for the day’s three meals, how they eat it, and who they eat it with.
You needn’t be physically present in Taiwan to have an interest in Taitung food. The Internet has already linked together more than 10,000 fans, and posts on Fooding Taiwan’s year-old Facebook page have been viewed by more than 2 million people. In fact, every time a food-related post goes up on the Facebook page, the comments come alive with enthusiastic discussions of how and where to eat it, and how to prepare it.
In addition to conducting surveys, AGUA’s team is also gathering information on foods from around the world, such as the diversity of foods in various nations, how those foods are cooked, and how food education is carried out. The team envisioned the project as an opportunity for Taitung to learn about the world, and in so doing, to learn about itself. International-caliber chefs are constantly searching for good ingredients they can use to create uniquely local dishes. Agua Chou suggests that increasing awareness of Taitung could attract the interest of such chefs, introducing an international seasoning to the county’s bucolic character.
Feel like eating corn? Pick it straight from the field!
When A-Jiao spots high-quality produce, she exchanges phone numbers with the vendor so she can arrange future purchases.
Highlights from a visit to Jin-Ping Primary School include the paintings of Bunun life on the exterior walls. (photo by Cathy Teng)
School principal Wen Shangde believes that food education is life education.
Amis tribespeople use alcohol to commune with their ancestral spirits and the natural world. By teaching students to brew rice wine, the food education curriculum at Yongan Primary School is passing on the Amis culture’s respect for Nature and humanity.
Amis tribespeople use alcohol to commune with their ancestral spirits and the natural world. By teaching students to brew rice wine, the food education curriculum at Yongan Primary School is passing on the Amis culture’s respect for Nature and humanity.
Mala Huang has fond memories of a dish from his high-school days: white rice topped with minced pork, leafy greens, a slice of sausage, a meatball and a soy egg.
Mala Huang has fond memories of a dish from his high-school days: white rice topped with minced pork, leafy greens, a slice of sausage, a meatball and a soy egg.
AGUA Design uses design to raise awareness of Taitung’s “food power.” (design by Fooding Taitung/AGUA Design)