A celebration of small-batch food producers
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of artisan food makers, people who might spend all night stirring an evolving cheese or hours carefully blending the perfect vermouth, and have photographed them whenever I’ve had the chance. It's no surprise that their produce is exquisite, but I’ve been interested to discover that they seem to share a calm contentment rare in the rest of society. Creating something beautiful and tangible that brings happiness to other people is clearly good for the soul.
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The Firsherman of Selinunte
Just after dawn, Piero drove his little boat out the nets he'd cast the night before, hauled in the catch, then drove to the market, where shopkeepers and chefs — all of them men — haggled over the daily catch.
'There is no mafia in Sicily now', a real estate agent we'd met in a bar had told me the day before. When I questioned Piero he dragged on his fortieth cigarette of the day and grinned. 'Cosa Nostra run everything here. Everything! So now you have to watch the market and guess who they are'. ​