UNESCO

"After" photo to the "before" of the home page. Breakfast with friends at home, the debris of the table when they leave, signs of happiness. 
"Only connect." E. F. Forster Howard's  End.

What do these activities have in common? 

• ​Watertight bulkhead technology of Chinese junks.
• Napolese pizza
• Kmer shadow theatre of Cambodia
• ​The French meal
• The whistle language of Turkey
• Korean Wrestling
  

They are all on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage. There’s hours of fun trawling through this website. (UNESCO lists)
Every year the cultural organization of the United Nations gathers to consider additions to their list of Intangible Cultural Practices. In 2010, France’s multi-course gastronomic meal, with its rites and its presentation, fulfilled the conditions for featuring on the list. They wrote...
 
“The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions. It is a festive meal bringing people together to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasises togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature.

Importance is given to the purchase of good, preferably local products whose flavours go well together; the pairing of food with wine; the setting of a beautiful table; and specific actions during consumption, such as smelling and tasting items at the table.

The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert. Individuals, called gastronomes, who possess deep knowledge of the tradition and preserve its memory, watch over the living practice of the rites, thus contributing to their oral and/or written transmission, in particular to younger generations.

The gastronomic meal draws circles of family and friends closer together and, more generally, strengthens social ties.”   (Gastronomic meal of the French)
 
In 2016, the national dish of Tajikstan, (Oshi Palava) was added to the list. This communal dish of rice, vegetables and usually meat was hailed for bringing families together, securing friendships and solving arguments, it may even have helped end civil war! 
 
So what are you waiting for?  Get out that diary, email, text or (old school) use the telephone and invite someone over.

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