The Mediterranean diet has been considered World Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.
The bid was approved during a UNESCO meeting that took place Wednesday (December 4) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The proposal had been in motion for a while and was supported by Tavira (Portugal) and six other communities Agros (Cyprus), Brač and Hvar (Croatia), Soria (Spain), Koroni/Coroni (Greece), Cilento (Italy) and Chefchaouen (Morocco).
Reports show that the decision was consensual amongst the jury and is said to have taken no longer than two minutes, without any kind of discussion or objection. The actual president of the jury committee said that the decision was unanimous because “they all love the food”. The decision was followed by a lengthy round of applause.
Shortly after the results were known – at around 1.30pm on Wednesday, December 4 (Portuguese time) – the mayor of Tavira Jorge Botelho, who travelled to Azerbaijan, told the press that the distinction was “a victory not only for the community of Tavira but also for the Algarve and the whole country”.
The diet is described by UNESCO as “the set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions, ranging from the landscape to the table, which in the Mediterranean basin concerns the crops, harvesting, picking, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly sharing and consuming of the cuisine”.
