Expat with Kids in Paris: The gastronomic meal of the French

March 16, 2018

The gastronomic meal of the French

During my first year in Paris I participated at many a cooking class. I started with a bang by signing Expat Girl and myself up for a macaron class the first Saturday afternoon we have arrived nearly seven years ago. Over the months I took French croissant classes, chocolate ateliers, how-to-serve-a-French-meal-in-30-minutes, cheese tasting and wine tasting seminars. The highlight must have been the Valentine's Day Chocolate workshop chez Cordon Bleu.

Today I returned to Cordon Bleu for a conference on the gastronomic meal of the French at Unesco. Try getting your head around that as a foreigner! However, having read a few weeks prior that Naples had managed to register the pizza as a cultural heritage I was intrigued as to what the French had to offer!

I learnt that the inscription of the gastronomic meal of the French on Unesco’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in 2010, reflected a desire to promote culinary practices, to the point of positioning them in an official heritage framework. The profound story of a "good meal" is influenced by the history of the relationships between agriculture, trade, religions and rituals.

This "good food" portrays the important moments in the lives of individuals, with family or friends, celebrating the moment and enjoying life. A living heritage is created on a daily basis in homes and restaurants. This dormant patrimony, made up of forgotten grape varieties and recipes, is a heritage built by mankind, for mankind, on a daily basis.

In other words: the gastronomic meal of the French at Unesco is the representation of a good time!