Italian restaurant staff in London have largely welcomed UNESCO’s decision to grant Italian cuisine special cultural heritage status on Wednesday 10 December.
The UN cultural agency added Italian cooking to its ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ during its assembly in Delhi, with this being the first time such an honour has been given to a national cuisine.
In explaining the move, Unesco stated that ‘the practice is rooted in anti-waste recipes and the transmission of flavours, skills and memories across generations’, providing ‘an outlet to share their history and describe the world around them’.
For Danilo, 27, head chef at the restaurant Osteria Pulcinella, in Twickenham, the answer to what makes Italian food special is ‘easy’.
He said: “In my opinion it’s its simplicity.
“Its simplicity and the love we put into it to this day, in continuing to make many of our traditional dishes in modern kitchens.”
He stated that the recognition ‘was bound to happen sooner or later’, adding that he hoped to see there be ‘many more chefs who will bring pride to Italy’s name’ around the world.
Italian restaurants in London, and in the UK more widely, have suffered a number of challenges in recent years, including Brexit, which has made it more difficult for Italian restaurant staff to obtain work visas.
Fellow chef, award-winning Alessandra Menta, who is also the general manager at Da Raffaele Bistro in Bromley, agreed that Italy’s place on the list had been hard-earned.
She said: “It’s an enormous satisfaction, an enormous gratification, and I think that we deserve it to an extent too, because it’s very demanding and complicated work.
“It’s a beautiful recognition”.
Italian cuisine is the 21st Italian tradition to be put on the UNESCO list, with others including Neapolitan pizza making, the practice of opera-singing, and Cremona violin-making.
However, some – like Pina, who works in an Italian restaurant chain in south-east London – were more sceptical about the recognition.
She said: “I don’t know what it will bring us, as Italians.
“Maybe our food will be more respected – they even make mozzarella in Australia nowadays.”
The decision to recognise Italian cuisine as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity
came after a bid for recognition was lodged by the Italian government in March 2023.
The reaction to the decision was overwhelmingly positive in Italy, with the announcement being projected onto the Colosseum.
However, it has attracted criticism from those who claim it forms part of a nationalistic campaign by Italy’s right-wing government; presents an artificial ‘postcard’ image of Italy; or risks contributing to overtourism, which affects many Italian cities and towns.
Featured Image from Pixabay
