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The Hat Lady Pegi Ballister-Howells likes to say she wears forty-seven hats at once. Fortunately for the Slow Food movement, each of her hats represents her dedication to bringing good, clean, fair food from farm to table. And it doesn’t hurt that she brings the talents of forty-seven people along with her. Pegi has been essential to keeping the Slow Food philosophy alive and thriving , while also proving that people don’t necessarily have to be card-carrying members of the movement to take part. “Slow Food isn’t something you have to join with a banner—it needs to be how people live,” she says. “If Slow Food can be a vehicle to get that message across, that’s a gift. But the gift is a better quality of life. People need to understand that family dinners are critical, and kids need to know that fresh food is good. People need to know it’s no harder to cook fresh broccoli than frozen broccoli. How hard is it to cook a beet? It’s not hard! People need to make this part of their daily life. It’s unfortunate we’ve gotten so far from the benefits of healthy food. We need Slow Food to remind us.” Pegi was an original co-leader and founding member of Slow Food Central New Jersey, and our chapter would not have been so successful without her insight and dedication. Today, though she is no longer a formal part of the movement, Pegi is still connected to all the critical elements that make Slow Food work. She’s keyed in to the local farmers’ point of view, and she also understands the viewpoint of the chefs and restaurant owners who want to purchase directly from those farmers rather than from a vast and anonymous mass food industry. For fifteen years, Pegi was a marketing consultant at the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the liaison organization between agricultural producers and state government , so she is familiar with how state rules and regulations fit into food production and distribution. She also understands the indispensable role that Rutgers University has played in food research and education, both of which have been critical in bringing the Slow Food philosophy into the real world. Plus, Pegi is a 6  57  communicator. Not only is she a writer, but she’s also the host of popular food and gardening programs on radio and television, and she manages the website of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association. With years of marketing experience behind her, she is a primary influence in helping the many elements of the Garden State food world communicate with each other. Pegi and I met in about 1999, just when Slow Food was getting started. She was already a well-known name in New Jersey food and gardening circles and a familiar presence on radio and TV. Her quirky, creative personality attracts and surprises people. They never quite know what she’s going to do next. Who else could start out as a fashion designer at age eighteen and then go on to become a county extension agent? During our first few Slow Food festivals, Pegi offered seminars about the food we were featuring—say, tomatoes, corn, or mushrooms—and she could talk for hours about almost anything that grows in the ground. Thinking back to those early days, she recently told me, “I remember when we made peach and cranberry sangria. Man, was that good!” Clearly, she appreciates the Slow Food focus on conviviality and hospitality; and as both a restaurant patron and a personal friend, she’s been a joy and a gift. Field of Dreams I met Kim, my bride-to-be, one evening in Princeton, on my birthday. She was a recent arrival in town and thought that what the area really needed was a wine bar. Although she had no professional food or beverage experience, she was well traveled and, as I soon discovered, had impeccable taste and an incredible palate. Of course, I fell in love! After we decided to get married, we began planning the ceremony and reception, which we would hold at Tre Piani. By that time we had already begun construction on theTre Bar, a wine bar with a small plate menu and Kim’s original dream. Months before the September 2006 event, Pegi began working on her wedding present to us. On Tre Piani’s patio area, she planted a beautiful “field...

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