Intangible Cultural Heritage

Intangible cultural heritage refers to “traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts" (UNESCO n.d.b).

The tradition of the gastronomic meal is indeed passed down from generation to generation. It is a festive event, ritual and social practice that is informally taught to French children through the repetition of the event and the use of repeated gestures. Gestures include chopping vegetables, garnishing plates, folding napkins (UNESCO and MFPCA 2010, 4:20). This helps children learn to prepare, present and share food à la française (the French way).

As the gastronomic meal of the French involves coming together with family and friends to celebrate special occasions and moments, the social aspect of the meal is just as important as its aesthetic components.

UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2010

UNESCO and MFPCA: Watch the brief documentary on the gastronomic meal of the French below.

ICH list criteria was established at the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Below are criteria that are interesting from a folklore perspective, as they require input from the folk group in question.

Elements proposed for inscription on the Representative List must:

iii) be recognized by the community, group or, if appropriate, the individuals concerned as part of their cultural heritage;

iv) provide the community or group involved with a sense of identity and continuity, based on shared experience and collective memory;

v) be rooted in the community or group in which it is continuously transmitted and recreated;

viii) be submitted with the free, prior and informed consent of the community, group or, if applicable, the individuals concerned;

ix) be submitted following the participation of the community, group or, if applicable, the individuals concerned at all stages of identification, definition, documentation and nomination...

(UNESCO 2005, 3)

ICH Representative List Journey: The Gastronomic Meal of the French

The application process for 'the gastronomic meal of the French' to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH) took 14 months to complete with the involvement of several government agencies and committees (Tornatore 2013, 354). The final submission, taking into account the criteria listed above, would be quite different from the original submission.

Historian Julia Csergo was chosen to revise the application. Csergo emphasized the popular and social elements of French gastronomy, ensuring that the submission focused on current folkloric elements and a folk group (French families). After conducting numerous interviews and research, she decided to focus the submission on the traditions of festive meals in French society. This approach distanced the gastronomy submission from French haute cuisine and commercial interests, bringing it closer to the grassroots approach required by UNESCO (Tornatore 2013, 354-8). It is also why we can recognize the gastronomic meal as a French folk tradition. Many countries, like China, have struggled to avoid top-down approaches in their food-related submissions due to political and economic differences and pressures (Demgenski 2020, 115-35).

Although France is known for specific food and dishes (like the baguette and foie gras for example), the gastronomic meal avoids speaking of specific French specialties and professional practices. This is partly because regional differences and cultural influences inform what foods will be served. Instead, it focuses on the social values and gastronomic traditions of ordinary French people. The grassroots approach to research ensured that the beliefs, values and customs of the group (the French) are highlighted (Tornatore 2013, 354-8). The end result is that 99% of French people agree that the gastronomic meal is important to their "heritage and cultural identity" (UNESCO and MFPCA 2010, 8:36).