How practical, though, is integrating Slow Food principles into one’s everyday life, especially in a country that seems to want everything faster, bigger, and cheaper? Kurt Michael Friese, an Iowa City chef, author, and Slow Food leader, was a self-proclaimed fast food aficionado until he went to culinary school and discovered “freshness and quality were important. Quality was closeness to my kitchen door,” he says. His restaurant, Devotay, buys everything that’s feasible locally.