jason hartley, your guide.

"I have a passion in making regenerative, sustainable farming as accessible as possible. The horrors of the industrial food industry impact the health of all us and the welfare of millions of animals. I want to share the talented hard working people I have met on my travels in life. Those that create the most wonderful, delicious produce. As a cook I love bringing new and old friends together, eating, drinking and laughing. SL.IT allows me to bring all of these elements together to hopefully inspire and indulge others."

Jason Hartley, Founder, SL.IT Tours

a chef & restaurateur

I was first inspired to cook as a nine year old by occasional forays into the kitchen of the cafe my mum ran to try my hand at scrambled eggs.

However It wasn't until my mid thirties whilst living and working in Amsterdam I had courage to step away from a career in advertising and walk into a kitchen again, in doing so creating Amsterdam’s first ever pop up restaurant. Quickly growing to weekly 150 person sell out events this led to me opening my first bricks and mortar award winning restaurant and cocktail bar.

I no longer spend my days in the kitchen but it will forever be the best thing I ever did and nothing makes me happier than getting people together around a table and cooking for them.

A long affair with slovenia & italy

I've had a love affair with Slovenia since I first visited in 2003. I was instantly blown away by this small country and its seemingly endless variance of landscapes and nature. A world of alpine mountains, rolling vineyards, forests, ancient seaside towns.

I've also been in love with Italy my whole adult life and have been a regular visitor to the relatively undiscovered region of Southern Tuscany since 2006. This wilder cousin to the popular Northern region of Florence, Siena and Chianti offers a more peaceful but equally beautiful experience.

I've been living in Slovenia on and off since 2015. My heart lies in the truly wonderful region of Goriška Brda, on the Italian border and home to some of Europes finest undiscovered winemakers.

I've made it my mission to create a new kind of agri-tourism that gives back to the community and allows people to keep supporting this region even when they have left and gone home.

also...

Slow Food

Jason has been head of the Chef Alliance for Slow Food in the UK, the world's largest food NGO that campaigns for good, clean, fair food. The focus of the chef alliance is to encourage Britains leading chefs to champion the rarest and best food produce and producers across the nation.

REAL FARMERS FIRST

There are 560 million farms in the world. 90% are individual or family owned and they feed 70% of the world on a daily basis. The processed and industrial food industry produces food that is cheap to the consumer but it always comes with a cost, to your health and the animals welfare. SL.IT supports regenerative, sustainable farming.