ABOUT US
We Are
Slow Food
East End
Slow Food East End is a chapter of Slow Food USA. We are the local leaders of a global, grassroots Slow Food movement. Our organization started after a 1986 protest against fast food upon the opening of a McDonald’s franchise in Rome, Italy. The founding manifesto was signed in Paris in 1989 by delegates from 15 countries. The movement’s earliest mission was to encourage the preservation of local food cultures, cuisine and traditions by farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystems. Slow Food promotes local growers, small businesses and sustainable foods.
The goal was to counteract the rapid growth of the corporate international food industry which promoted a fast food culture to promote the consumption of processed foods. The Slow Food tactic was to combat people’s dwindling knowledge about the food they eat, where it comes from and how our food choices affect the world around us with education, communication and celebration of our traditions and focus on the world wide and local benefits of slowing down. Since its beginnings, Slow Food has grown into a global movement involving millions of people in over 160 countries.
The East End chapter includes the North and South forks of Long Island from Riverhead to Montauk and to Orient. We are engaged in activities that acknowledge the importance and pleasures of consuming locally gown good food so that we all continue to eat well and thrive.
We are fortunate to live in a bountiful area where the principles of Slow Food are lived by our farmers, fishermen, vintners, chefs and artisanal food producers. Slow Food East End works to partner with educators and organizations to create a food web that is healthy, environmentally sustainable and preserves cultural traditions. We support policies around food production and access to food that help insure our local food network is Good, Clean and Fair for all. This is what gives us joy.
MEET OUR BOARD
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Pennie is an avid gardener and herbalist who loves working in the soil and getting her hands dirty! Pennie will bring that passion of where our food is grown, and that good clean local food should be available to all, and is healing to our East End community
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David joined the board as treasurer in 2025. Professionally, Dave worked in accounting and finance roles in the corporate world for the first half of half of his career before joining his wife, Melinda, as a partner in their custom design retail business in Southold. As a result, he found a passion and niche to focus his skill set by providing strategic accounting, analysis, and financial consulting for small businesses as @daveinaccounting. Currently he’s Controller at a local winery.
David moved to the North Fork from Brooklyn after many years of visiting the area in 2019. David was introduced to SFEE by participating in the Flour Power program, he is an avid bread baker and competitive home cook, he plays piano, does illustrations, enjoys kayaking and running.
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Susan joined the board as a guest leader in 2023 and took on the role of Secretary in 2025. As a guest leader Susan helped produce SFEE event and the silent auctions and has been a member of the Snail of Approval committee.
Throughout her life, Susan has always been an active volunteer in her community, particularly helping children who may not have the resources to excel. Professionally Susan enjoyed a long career as an executive at a major media conglomerate she brings managerial and analytical approach to problem solving have been invaluable in her role as secretary to help further SFEE’s missions particularly as it relates to children’s health and welfare. Susan splits her time between Greenport where she farms oysters and Westchester where she continues to volunteer as a “baby cuddler” for NICU Westchester Medical Center.
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Dayna Corlito has over 30 years of experience in Finance and Accounting, having a BS degree from Long Island University - C.W. Post Campus in both majors; as well as a registered CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license in NYS. Dayna started her career in public accounting and financial services. During her tenure in NYC, she also went to the American Sommelier Association to pursue her certification in viticulture & vinification, as Dayna has long loved the wine industry and has traveled extensively to various wine regions around the world. Dayna works as a contractor performing Controller/CFO/COO services and is also an entrepreneur. Her most recent business on the east end was The Wine Room at the Cottage, which operated in Hamton Bays until March 2025. Dayna has been living in Hampton Bays for 15yrs and developed great relationships with other business owners on both the North and South Forks, through both employment and networking. Dayna also travels regularly to Italy to assist people in the US with purchasing properties in Italy through another US based company she is affiliated with (Italian Design Workshop LLC) and has an apartment in Asti in the Piedmont region.
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Becky Chidester joined the Slow Food East End Board in 2025 after a year as a guest leader and has now served on the Board for two years. She currently heads the Flour Power program and leads the chapter’s Food Committee, with a focus on food access and healthy eating. Over the past year, Becky has guided Flour Power through a successful pivot from a COVID-era initiative to a more sustainable program delivering targeted, measurable impact for the local community.
An activist at heart, Becky is deeply committed to inspiring healthier behaviors. This passion began during her early work on Capitol Hill in grassroots politics and has been honed over a 30+ year career in healthcare marketing. During her time at WPP—one of the world’s largest marketing and advertising organizations—Becky worked with numerous healthcare organizations to empower people to live healthier lives. She founded and served as CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health for more than a decade, where she developed deep expertise in behavior change, particularly in health and wellness.
Now a full-time resident of the North Fork, Becky joined Slow Food East End to further her commitment to promoting better food and nutrition choices by leveraging the region’s abundance of locally grown organic produce and shellfish. One of the driving factors in choosing to live on the North Fork was its strong culture of good, healthy food and sustainable practices. Becky is excited to partner with fellow Slow Food members who share the belief that integrated food and nutrition are essential tools for both treatment and prevention.
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Inspired by the bounty of the North Fork and introduction to SFEE by friends on the board Alyson became a Board Member in 2022. Aly is passionate about SFEE’s values, she strongly believes everyone should have access to good, clean and fair food.
Alyson currently works for Madison Square Garden as a Vice President of People Acquisition. Alyson brings to SFEE a background of experiences advising and leading not-for-profits on how to build funding and growth strategies. Alyson will focus on SFEE’s fundraising strategies that will include recruiting new supporters and engaging existing sponsors with the goal of expanding our programs for both the North and South Forks. Alyson splits her time between East Marion and NYC.
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Cate began volunteering for Flour Power as a baker and grant writer in 2023 and joined the Slow Food East End board in 2025. She was born and raised in Greenport on the North Fork, and now calls East Hampton home.
Raised by the wild cranberry bogs, blueberry patches, and waterways of the East End, Cate is a lifelong gardener and forager and has studied herbalism since 2020. Having witnessed and experienced firsthand the violence of gentrification and climate change that have impacted her home, Cate is committed to helping build a sustainable food system that includes people of all backgrounds and incomes. Cate knows firsthand that enjoying the bounty of our local farms, forests, and waters is usually a privilege reserved for the wealthy. She has spent her life advocating for an ethical food system that not only provides a viable career for food producers, but is regenerative for the land and is accessible for all. With a degree in International Relations, her career has spanned from food service on the east end, to advocacy at the United Nations, professional fundraising, grants management, and foundation operations. Cate is both personally and professionally positioned to support Slow Food East End.
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She’s walked the sunlit side of the street her whole life — not because it’s easy, but because she believes in light. Owner of 91 East Productions- she is a visual creative with a wanderer’s heart and a warrior’s fire, she tells stories that matter, lifting voices that need to be heard and capturing moments that move the world forward.
Part filmmaker, part dreamer, part advocate — she is a problem solver who sees challenges as creative sparks, and people as untapped wells of beauty and potential. A world traveler, adventurer, and fierce believer in connection, she shows up — always — with empathy, passion, and sleeves rolled high ready to get to work. She’s not just a storyteller. She’s a soul on a mission: to reflect the best of humanity, one frame at a time.
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Ralph joined the board in 2021. Ralph is a full time North Forker who really enjoys all the East End has to offer. He is a retired elementary school teacher, a retired motivational speaker for a nutritional organization. He has an outgoing personality and a willingness to work to achieve Slow Food goals. Having played a lifetime of athletics, he understands the importance of being a team player.
For the last two years Ralph has been the leader of the Snail of Approval committee dedicated to seeking out and recognizing leaders on the East End worthy of the award. Awardees are local businesses who receive international awareness by the global Slow Food network for their important work in the food world. Ralph has always been passionate about thinking outside the box, since his involvement SFEE he has been committed to presenting these awards to a wider mix of candidates in our East End food network. From shining the spotlight on more early leaders in the organic and sustainable farm movement to awarding wineries with healthy soil and farming practices and awarding East End hospitals with impressive food service programs that source locally and offer healthy menus utilizing food as medicine philosophies that are changing the landscape of hospital culinary services.
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2004: Slow Food East end Convivium. A Chapter is Born
Inspired by the mission of the nascent Slow Food international movement which organized in 1989 Italy and the newly opened Slow Food USA office in NYC, local foodies on the East End welcomed NYC leaders visiting the East End. The get-to-know the East End day included a tour of Lenz winery on the North North and a dinner at the American Hotel In Sag Harbor.
The local attendees at this first dinner decided to continue to meet and engage in Slow Food discussions. Thus started a series of dinner meetings of the Slow Food End End Convivium which became organized as Slow Food East End.
Founding leaders: Ted Conklin, owner of the American Hotel; Brian Halweil, founder of Edible East End: Tom Morgan, Lenz WInery, Mary Foster Morgan, local food and wine writer, and Kate Plumb, who with Brian organized the Sag Harbor Farmer’s Market.
2005: Junior Slow Food After School Program
Youth educational activities were the intial Slow Food East End activities. Monies were raised to fund 5th & 6th grade after-school curriculum development.
2005 Leaders: Ted Conklin, Brian Hailweil, Tom Morgan, Mary Morgan Kate Plumb and Ursula Massoud.
2006-2007: Education is a priority
SFEE focused on supporting local schools with school garden programming, including pilot educational plans for East Hampton public schools. The first program was Healthy Bodies, Healthy Bays in conjunction with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
2006-2027 Leaders: Ted Conklin, Brian Hailweil, Tom Morgan, Mary Morgan Kate Plumb and Ursula Massoud
2008: Market Dinners
The founding leaders focused on ongoing community building and creating a model of educational support. With money raised by the Slow Food Convivium, a greenhouse was built at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.
2008 Leaders: Ted Conklin, Michael Denslow, Emily Herrick, Mary Foster Morgan, Tom Morgan and Kate Plumb.
2009: Organizational by-laws
The founding leaders drafted and adopted the chapter bylaws to establish Slow Food East End as a not-for-profit entity of Slow Food USA.
2009 Leaders: Ted Conklin, Michael Denslow, Emily Herrick, Mary Foster Morgan, Tom Morgan and Kate Plumb
2010: First board members elected
Slow Food East End officially becomes an all-volunteer board elected by the general membership.
2010 Executive Board: Kate Plumb, Chair; Mary Morgan, Vice chair. Board Leaders: Ursula Masoud, Bryan Futerman, Miche Bacher, Noah Bacher, Leslie Rose Close, Judiann C Fayyaz, Tullia Limarzi and Alexandra Sofis.
2011: The first annual Josh Levine Memorial to support Edible School Gardens
This event was hosted at the American Hotel. Funds raised supported the expansion of the Edible School Garden program in memory of Josh Levine, a young local farmer at Quail Hill who lost his life in a 2010 farming accident. Additional funds were invested in hiring two farm interns at the new Sylvester Manor Educational Farm on Shelter Island.
2011 Executive Board: Mary Morgan, Chair. Ursula Masoud. Judinann C Fayyaz, Vice-chair. Board Leaders: Bryan Futterman, Miche Bacher, Ed Bruehl, Judiann C Fayyaz, Anne Howard, Tullia Limarzi , Kate Plumb, and Alexandra Sofis.
2012
2012 Executive Board: Bryan Futterman, Chair, Anne Howard, Vice Chair, Judiann C Fayyaz, Tullia Limarzi, Linda Slezak, Treasurer, Jeri Woodhouse
2013: Snail Suppers
Gathering together with a series of potluck dinners at members’ homes became a Slow Food tradition of sharing common ground, feasting on local produce, and building networks and program initiatives.
2013 Executive Board: Jusiann Carmack-Fayyaz, Chair. Vice chair. Ursula Masoud. Board Leaders: Miche Bacher, Noah Bacher, Jeannie Calderale, Leslie Rose Close, Judiann C Fayyaz, Bryan Futterman,. Tullia Limarzi and Alexandra Sofis, Ivo Tomasini, Joan Tururro
2014: First Snail of Approval Awardee
The first Slow Food East End Snail of Approval Award was presented to the North Fork Table & Inn in recognition of their farm-to-table mission and the Inn’s hosting a weekly local farmers' market. SFEE announced the award at a benefit held at Kontokosta Winery, celebrating Chef Gerry Hayden, founder of North Fork Table, who was living with ALS.
2014 Executive Board: Judiann Cormack-Fayyaz, Chair, Bryan Futerman, Vice Chair, Anne Howard, Membership Chair and Newsletter Editor; Jeannie Calderale, Treasurer, Jaon Turturro, Secretary. Board Leaders: M. Pierre Friedrichs, Tullia Limarzi, Megan Schmidt, Linda Slezak, Cheryl Stair, Ivo Tomasini, Tulia Limarzi , Jeri Woodhouse.
2015: Expanding leadership
Building connections between the North Fork and South Fork with Edible School Gardens and potluck dinners. Noah’s was awarded a Snail of Approval.
2015 Executive Board: Anne Howard, Chair, Bryan Futerman, Vice Chair, M.Pierre Friedrichs, Treasurer, Joan Turturro, Secretary. Board Leaders: Jeannie Claderale, Kim Folks, Megan Schmidt, Linda Slezak, Cheryl Stair, Ivo Tomasini, Jeri Woodhouse, Al Goldberg guest leader).
2016: Growing Recognition about SFEE
SFEE & WLIW forum about Slow Food Movement brought more awareness to East End efforts including a report on Edible School Gardens.
A fundraiser hosted by Chef Colin Ambrose at Estia’s Little Kitchen to honor the recent passing of Chef Gerry Hayden of North Fork Table and Inn and their mutual passion for Slow Food.
Love Lane Kitchen, Estia’s Little Kitchen and 18 Bay were awarded Snail of Approval awards. Slow Food East End board members attend Slow Food International Terre Madre Salon del Gusto.
2016 Executive Board: Anne Howard, Chair; M. Pierre Friedrichs, Vice-Chair; Al Goldberg, Treasurer; Joan Turturro, Secretary. Board Leaders: Jeannie Calderale, Ian Calder-Piedmonte, Kim Folks, Megan Schmidt, Linda Slezak, Cheryl Stair, Ivo Tomasini, and Jeri Woodhouse.
2017: 7th annual Moveable Feast
Educational efforts: Wellness for Kids, Know Your Farmer, Good Water Farm Tours, Chefs to School Cooking Classes an Slow FIsh programs. School garden program keeps growing with financing sustained by A Moveable Feast, an annual tasting event newly hosted by Dodds & Eder Landscape Showroom. $11,400 wasa donated to various school gardens. SFEE hosted seven Pot Luck suppers ( previoiusly known as Snail Suppers) across the East End. Master Farmers included Roxanne immer, Lucy Senesac and Mark Antonio-Smith. Snail of Approval award winners: Almond, Art of Easting and Bell and Anchor.
2017 Executive Board: Anne Howard, Chair; M. Pierre Friedrichs, Vice-Chair; Al Goldberg, Treasurer; Joan Turturro, Secretary. Board Leaders: Jeannie Calderale, Kim Folks, Abra Morawiec, Megan Schmidt, Linda Slezak, Cheryl Stair, Ivo Tomasini, and Jeri Woodhouse. NYS Governor Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz
2018: A Moveable Feast Supports Edible School Gardens
As the success and benefits of the school garden curriculum grew, Slow Food East End continued to host an annual benefit to support and promote more school garden initiatives, ultimately supporting over 30 school garden programs and curriculum development on the East End. The event featured tastings by over 40 food producers, restaurants, and wineries.
2018 Executive Board: M.Pierre Friedrichs, Chapter chair. Megan Schmidt, Vice Chair, Pennie Schwartz, Secretary. Al Goldberg, Treasurer, Laura Luciano, Membership. Board Leaders: Kim Folks, Abra Morawiec, Sandra Saiegh, Darlene Salatto Rose, Cheryl Stair, Ivo Tomasini, Joan Turturro. Robin Tyson-Stoehr, guest leader. Pennie Schwartz assumed chair mid-year. NYS Governor, Laura Luciano.
2019: Film Series
The spotlight was focused on Food Hunger and Farming with two screenings of significant films making an impact. A Place at the Table: A Documentary on Hunger in America” by Lori Silverbush film shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides — as they have in the past — that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all. The Biggest Little Farm, the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature.
2019 Executive Board: Pennie Schwartz, chair, Laura Luciano, vice chair, Joan Turturro, Secretary, and Al Goldberg, Treasurer. Board Leaders: Mimi Edelman, Steven Frankel, Niki Gohorel, Abra and Shane Weeks.
2020: the year before the Pandemic Changed our Lives
Like the rest of the world, Slow Food pivots, coping with shutdown mandates that include cancelling the Moveable Feast event and all in-person events for most of the year. The annual auction becomes a virtual production, allowing Slow Food to continue to raise money.
2020 Executive Board: Pennie Schwartz, chair, Laura Luciano, vice chair, Al Goldberg, treasurer, Eileen Duffy, secretary. Board Leaders: David Chaffin, Mimi Edelman, Ralph Reinertsen, Peter Treiber Jr., Robyn Tyson-Stroehr.
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My name is Stacey Isaacs. I am the writer and creator of Kitchen Of Youth, a food is medicine blog/web site. I have had many careers. I’ve been a chef, a lawyer, and a writer/editor. I also have a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine/Herbs and a license in Acupuncture. Some people find this diversity interesting. Others just think I have the attention-span of a gnat.
I’ve found my passion and that is: Wellness. As a chef, I insist on using only top-quality ingredients. By top-quality, I don’t mean expensive; I mean fresh, environmentally-friendly, great tasting herbs, spices, meats, vegetables, etc. As a Chinese medicine practitioner, I look at foods with an eye toward their healing properties and I combine the correct foods with the correct food herbs and Chinese herbs to create a unique system to heal you.
My husband and I moved to the North Fork in 2021 to open The Harvest Inn. This bed and breakfast is an extension of our home and of how we live. We serve our guests local and organic foods, and while our breakfasts are decadent, they also contain the great seasonal ingredients available at our beloved local farms. We also sprinkle in some of my Chinese medicine principles.
Our North Fork community has become a welcome and integral part of my life. The farms, the vineyards, the local shops, and the restaurants all are near and dear to my heart. My passion has morphed into sharing my knowledge of food as medicine as it pertains to our local ingredients and to what our community needs. I love teaching people how to use the abundance of local food available to us to make easy, affordable, and healing meals for their families and friends.
My life is one big test kitchen or episode of Chopped. Cooking with what is available and sourcing everything local is healthy and fun. Nose to tail cooking and avoiding food waste when it comes to farm fresh produce and also to animals has become an important part of my daily life. And I love to share everything I know with everyone who has any interest.
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Cheryl truly believes the statement from SFUSA “A better, cleaner and fairer world begins with what we put on our plates-and our daily chores determine the future of the environment , economy and society”. That’s why she is looking forward to serving on the board of SFEE again.
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A longtime Slow Food leader, serving on the Slow Food USA Board in many capacities since 2017, most recently as Co-Chair for the past three years, where she champions biodiversity, food sovereignty, and community connection.
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Kim is excited to return to the board of SFEE, “Good, clean, fair food for all” is essential to building community and support for our local producers and growers. Kim was raised on the East End and is glad to be a part of the organization again.
We envision a world where everyone is able to enjoy food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet.
Carlo Patrini
Founder, The Slow Food Movement