This announcement brought cheers and successful fruition of the 3-year campaign by the Agriculture Ministry of Italy, UNESCO is the cultural body of the UN. The decision to designate Italian food as an intangible cultural heritage was confirmed on Wednesday, the 10th December by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni ahead of an announcement from UNESCO..  “We are the first in the world to receive this recognition, which honors who we are and our identity,” she said in a statement. “Because for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: It is culture, tradition, work, and wealth.”

“We already export 70 billion euros in agri-food products, and are the leading economy in Europe in terms of agricultural added value. This recognition will give the Italian economy a decisive boost to reach new heights,” she said.

“The act of cooking in Italy transcends the simple nutritional necessity to become a complex and stratified daily practice,” Pier Luigi Petrillo, one of the editors of Italy’s proposal, wrote in the initial bid.

The recognition will help the country fight against ‘fake’ Italian food, like a recent complaint lodged with the European Parliament when jars of pre-packaged carbonara sauce were seen on its shelves. Italy has also been fighting against the production of fake olive oil and the use of Italian-sounding names on products not made in Italy.

The recognition by UNESCO should help protect the cuisine from such culinary abuses, the country’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, said in a Statement which said,’ This recognition is a source of pride but also of awareness of the further valorization that our products, territories, and supply chains will enjoy. It will also be an additional tool to counter those who seek to exploit the value that the entire world recognizes in Made in Italy.”

Coincidentally, the decision was taken during a key UNESCO meeting hosted at the Red Fort in Delhi. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tajani, who later came to the Reception in the evening that I attended, was present at the Plenary Hall when the announcement was made by UNESCO during the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, being hosted by India.

The Italian Embassy in the UK posted on X, “We are very proud to announce that Italy’s cuisine has become the first in the world to be declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, in recognition of its power to shape lifestyle, culture and identity.” It also shared the video posted by Prime Minister Meloni.

Susanna di Cosimo who is married to an Indian, started Pizzeria da Susy 10 years ago has her birthday arrive 3 days earlier, it seems. Susy, as she is popularly known in Gurugram, had her Pizzeria rated one of the Top 100 in the world a few months back. Hailing from Naples, she is proud of the original Neapolitan pizzas she dishes out at her 2 outlets in Gurugram. Pizza is definitely a popular form of Italian cuisine, she says. With the recognition earlier in 2017 of the Pizzaiolos (pizza makers) of Naples she is already a proud and distinguished member of that fraternity. The UN recognition yesterday will definitely be quite helpful in her business plans.

Coincidentally, the dinner was a delectable buffet curated by the Michelin Starred Chef Gianni Tarabini, since 2013. With several small individual stands catering to the Italian food like pizzas, pasta, soups and salads, there was every reason to agree with UNESCO that Italian cuisine is the best- made from freshest ingredients and recipes passed on from generation to generation by Nonnas (Grandmothers of every Italian family.  

Italian cuisine has been extremely popular in India for several years. The Neapolitan-style pizzas have been getting ever so popular distinctly in the Post Covid period though it had started increasing since 2018 when gourmet food importers like Lalit Asrani of Rodaaji had started importing superior quality flour Caputo.  One will hopefully see more of Italian gastronomy in India – and consequently Italian wines will also see a further increase in their consumption. Subhash Arora who has been involved extensively in the increase of Italian wines and was in fact, knighted by the President of Italy and bestowed the rank of Cavaliere for promoting Italian wines and cuisine in India, in 2009.  

DelWine congratulates the Italians for this recognition and would like to raise a Toast with a glass of Prosecco or Franciacorta and say ‘Salute’ or in local parlance, ‘JAI HO!

Subhash Arora