Exactly one year ago, seven friends, who have since become eight, took on the challenge of registering Niçoise Cuisine as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The goal is set for March 2017 for the final submission.
Laurence Duperthuy (Notes de Cuisine), Alex Benvenuto (Historian – Lou Sourgentin), Daniel Silvetti (Chef Lu Fran Calin), Franck Bermond (Chef and culinary teacher), Eric Capuzzo (Culinary teacher at the Paul Augier hotel school), Luc Salsedo (Chef and creator of Socca Chips), and Franck Viano (Former winner of an almost perfect dinner and organizer of the Niçoise cooking contest “Chef for a Day”) have indeed been joined by a prized recruit in the person of Karine Brun, a native of Nice who has returned home and to the piano, after spending a few years at… UNESCO Paris. A significant reinforcement who knows well the house and its workings.
“Our wish was to submit the application by March 2016, but the work is colossal and we all have professional, associative activities, and above all, a family life. So we decided to give ourselves an extra year to make sure the dossier is perfect,” explains Franck Viano with conviction.
“I am currently in Morocco, in Fez, to present our application during meetings for Mediterranean culinary and cultural diplomacy at the service of peace. I have already met many potential partners who congratulate us on our initiative and are ready to support us and help. Niçoise cuisine crosses the globe and receives a wonderful welcome,” says Karine, who is currently traveling in Morocco where she will host a fully Niçoise buffet tomorrow evening (see menu in the box).
The path is still long but with an additional deadline that will be very useful, and new projects are also coming. While discussing the project with chefs, the idea naturally arose to film about ten recipes made and explained by local chefs, which will be visible on a YouTube channel created for the occasion.
“But who will carry the project?”
It remains to be seen who will carry the project in front of the UNESCO house because the regulations specify that only a “member state” can submit an application, whether in the field of world heritage or in that of cultural and intangible. A proposal has been made to the City of Nice to carry the project, and the companions are waiting for a response from the Mayor of Nice and the President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, two institutions that would have the opportunity to submit an application that would make Niçoise Cuisine, if successful, the first regional cuisine to gain access after French Cuisine in 2010, supported by the government of the time.
There is no doubt that one or the other of the two public authorities will not let the opportunity pass to be able to elevate Niçoise Cuisine to the highest level, especially when we see the horrors that can be served on some tables or “mangled” in culinary reality shows. There is also the Departmental Council, or even the Regional Council, which could also be possible member states…
Nice Premium is very pleased to be a partner in this project and will keep you informed of the progress of this application.
