Pizza, pasta or risotto. Never before has a national cuisine as a whole been recognized in this way. This inscription consecrates all of Italian culinary traditions as a cultural treasure to be preserved. Unesco welcomed “a cultural and social mix of culinary traditions” committed to respecting ingredients, passing on know-how and fighting against waste.
Italy had submitted this application in 2023 in order to highlight a “social ritual that unites families and communities”. The 24 members of the Intergovernmental Committee, meeting at the Red Fort in New Delhi, India, voted unanimously. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was personally involved. She expressed her pride, the government having made gastronomy an expression of identity.
But if this is the first time that UNESCO has recognized a cuisine as a whole, it is not the first time that it has singled out a dish. Around thirty culinary practices around the world are already on the list. Emblematic dishes have been recognized: couscous from the Maghreb (2020), Joumou soup from Haiti (2021), Ukrainian borsch (emergency listed for 2022 due to the war in Ukraine), Jordanian mansaf (2022) or Peruvian ceviche (2023). Other inscriptions highlighted drinks and know-how linked to the table such as Belgian beer (2016) or Georgian qvevri wine made in amphorae (2013). The French baguette and its bakery craftsmanship were listed in 2022.
Unesco recognition has no binding legal value or financial reward. However, it has important symbolic significance. Often, it enshrines ancestral traditions, passed down from generation to generation, and encourages countries to document and promote them. In 2023, for example, the organization added 55 new items to its lists, bringing the total to 730 protected living practices in 145 countries. These 55 additions include various practices such as lyrical singing (Italian opera), crafts (the decorated rickshaws of Bangladesh) or gastronomy such as ceviche.
French traditions are also in the spotlight. France is one of the most active countries in safeguarding intangible heritage. It now has 30 practices included on the list, ranging from tarte Tatin to Corsican songs and the art of the baguette. In 2024, France will be in the top 5 in the world in terms of the number of elements registered, alongside China, Turkey and Spain.
The 2025 vintage is placed under the sign of geographical and thematic diversity. Several other culinary traditions have become part of the intangible heritage. In particular, the Egyptian kosharu. This spicy dish combining lentils, rice, pasta and fried onions, drizzled with vinegar and spicy tomato sauce is the first Egyptian dish to receive this recognition. The UNESCO Committee also inscribed the Tyrolean song “yodel” of Switzerland and in a completely different register, the geothermal swimming pools of Iceland.
