UNESCO comes to the realization that the world has long known. Few know that Italians invented Sophisticated Cuisine during the Medici reign, and that it was called the "Mother Cuisine of Europe". Catherine de Medici, when she married the King of France, brought her entire retinue of Chefs, Bakers, Desert Makers, etc from Florence to Paris, and taught the French how to cook. The French in trying to further elevate "The Perfect " added all kinds of sauces and embellishments, which were for long the rage, but now have faded, 

The Mediterranean diet might soon have the same status as a World Heritage 
When a baby is born in Italy, there are several milestones its parents will look forward to: their first steps, their first words, the first tooth taken away by la fatina (the tooth fairy) or il topino (the tooth mouse). And then there is one of the biggest celebrations of all - the moment that a child eats their first meal of spaghetti. At this point we rejoice, for it is the beginning of a long life of glorious eating. 

The importance of food in Italy cannot be underestimated. In many cases, we do not eat to live ? we live to eat. We do not see a meal as mere fuel to get through the day. Food is about pleasure, and most importantly it is a catalyst for family. We share food together, and through that we share other bits and pieces of our lives. 

So it does not surprise me that our Mediterranean diet might soon have the same status as a World Heritage Site - as the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge or the Pyramids. That, by the end of this year, our cuisine of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, meat and olive oil might be as protected as the Great Barrier Reef, the Statue of Liberty or, indeed, the Dolomites. 

If that sounds bizarre, then let me explain. In 2003, Unesco launched a list of ?intangible cultural heritage? that would compliment its vast collection of places of international importance. This strange cultural heritage list safeguards traditions; it already features the tango (Argentina), lace-making (Croatia) and polyphonic singing (Georgia and the Central African Republic). And now Italy is hoping to add to its current tally of Sicilian puppet theatre and Sardinian pastoral songs, by suggesting that Mediterranean cuisine joins the list. 

Italy, along with Greece, Spain and Morocco, first made a submission four years ago, but the proposal was turned down. The countries have now re-submitted it, hoping that by underlining the cultural importance of the diet, our delicious food will make the grade when Unesco meet to discuss the matter in November. 

I do hope that we succeed; the Italian passion for food is such that we certainly deserve it. It is hard to imagine Britain ever making such a request, or Unesco sanctioning it (what would be submitted, I wonder: baked beans, egg-and-bacon butties?). In Britain, despite the proliferation of delicatessens, the huge amount of fabulous restaurants and chefs, a curiously old-fashioned mentality regarding food remains: it is a commodity, something to sustain us. 

It was the cookery writer Elizabeth David who exported our cuisine to Britain, with the publication in 1954 of her book Italian Food (Evelyn Waugh remarked that it was one of his favourite books of the year). At the time you could only buy olive oil in chemists, where it was sold as a remedy for earache - it is remarkable to think of this given the varieties you can now buy in any British supermarket. 

David?s aim was to get readers to eat true Italian food, and not strange British versions of it (she wrote of her frustration at seeing ?a recipe for a risotto made with twice-cooked Patna rice and a tin of tomato soup.? Meanwhile: ?A crumpet or a made-up scone mix spread with tomato pur?e and a slice of processed cheese turns up regularly as a Neopolitan pizza?). 

Yet it still surprises me what passes for ?Italian? food. The first time I ate spaghetti bolognese in this country, I sent it back to the kitchen ? real bolognese is simply meat, tomato sauce, onions, wine and vegetables, served with tagliatelle, not oodles of garlic and spaghetti (in Italy we have over 600 types of pasta, all of which go with certain sauces). And what some people have done to the pizza - deep pan! Pineapples on them! Horrendous! 

In Italy, the onus is on fresh, seasonal food ? fruit and vegetables are as important to us, if not more so, than meat and vegetables. Ask yourself, what would you prefer? A ripe peach that is free from your garden, or one that has been sitting in a box in a supermarket, having flown many miles to be there? 

We enjoy eating, but we eat sensibly, in moderation. Despite our obsession with food, we have low levels of obesity. If only this country was as obsessed. I look at real British food, and what this country has on offer ? the game, the local fish, the vegetables ? and I think that, if all that was developed, Britain could easily have cuisine as good as Italy. 
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/
7962504/A-prize-for-Italys-first-love.html
 

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