Food incursions into global heritage: Peruvian cuisine's slippery road to UNESCO

Abstract

Food incursions into global heritage:Peruvian cuisine's slippery road to UNESCO This article provides critical engagement with cultural heritage-making processes conducted by stakeholders and interest groups within the UNESCO's intangible heritage paradigm. By tracking the road of Peru's cuisine to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (the ICH List) and focusing on the turning points during food's shift from culinary to heritage status, the aim is to shed light on the political and economic forces that shape the meanings of food heritage. This article draws on recent research conducted at the intersection of globalisation with cultural and food politics in Peru. The empirical evidence, collected between 2011 and 2014 from individuals directly implicated in Peru's food heritage-making, allows for a discussion of how, despite a discursive emphasis on cultural continuity and intercultural dialogue, food incursions into the UNESCO intangible cultural paradigm operate more as an elite-driven competitive global concept than as a tool for cultural safeguarding and inclusive development. To do so, a description of the backgrounds that led to the rise of food heritage awareness in Peru and an account of the evolution of the candidature of Peruvian cuisine to the UNESCO's ICH List are provided.

Heritage Prospecting and the Past as Future(s) in Peru

“…Since then, food festivals, cooking shows, and elite restaurants draw on the notion of a national food heritage to market and sell Peruvian foodstuffs, often relying on tropes of indigeneity to market cuisine (García , ). In his study of efforts to nominate Peruvian cuisine for UNESCO's world heritage list, Matta argues that, rather than safeguard a cultural paradigm such as the food chain of Michoacán, Mexico, state actors in Peru viewed heritage designation as an “elite‐driven competitive global concept” (Matta :338). One can almost hear the cries of Eureka!…”

Ksar Said: Building Tunisian Young People’s Critical Engagement with Their Heritage

“…All parties agreed that it could be immediate and easy for children to relate to food as a form of cultural identity. Food is a form of heritage that transcends cultural and religious barriers [53,54], and Tunisia is filled with restaurants that reflect the movement of people in the country throughout history. We thought this could be the easiest mission to make students think about 'hybridity' and 'heterochrony'.…”

Foodservice in a UNESCO Site: The Restaurateurs’ Perception on Communication and Promotion Tools

“…UNESCO recognition is a strong advantage for the food tourism sector, confirming that tradition, gastronomy and cooking styles are part of a worldwide cultural heritage [75,[79][80][81]. It has also become a new international and territorial tool for the Langa del Barolo area [82].…”