Moroccan cuisine as an act of culture

Mr Salah Chakor is the director of the Tourism and Hotel Institute of Tangier (ITHT). He is the author of "Traité de Gastronomie Marocaine". "Moroccan cuisine is the result of great knowledge and a great civilization. This kitchen is one of the tourist attractions of our region is the most effective way to argue and strengthen our cultural heritage." Yacout Info met with him to talk about his book and Moroccan Cuisine.

Salah Chakor

Yacout Info: Why did you write this book?

   Salah Chakor : "To write a treatise on Moroccan cuisine, but also fill a clear gap because there are virtually no comprehensive works on this subject in any language in Morocco."

My aim in this treatise is an attempt to trigger a debate on Moroccan cuisine in its capacity as purely cultural and civilizational act, more an act of meeting the needs of food. I would also get in the culinary traditions and knowledge belonging to different regions, depending on whether large or small farming, because the kitchen was born and grew thanks to the revolution of wealth in these products agriculture, traditional and modern.
And since food is one of the fields of culture and heritage of great importance, as well as painting, music, architecture, well then it deserves to be recognized and best studied and developed. This will lead us to initiate the installation of a dialogue between researchers and professionals in the tourism and hospitality to give this art of cooking the place he deserves. This also is able to demonstrate that food is an area that requires special attention as a human science.

Because good food is a sign of friendliness, cooking is very significant in human life of individuals, something that shows that home sign of hospitality. It is this aspect that Moroccan cuisine is festive
The kitchen is the most effective way to ensure good health for adults and children's growth, development of the mind, intelligence, which tends to confuse medicine is good food for maintenance, repair, and diet.
Cooking is not only to cook, or a party, but especially to meet a need triggered by the body as nature and prevent discomfort that may happen, and ensure the growth of the organism.

Speaking of Moroccan cuisine, its rhythm and ceremony is to evoke a great culture and an ancient civilization that marked the people of this country for a long history, from Berber to Arab Muslims and Jews, not to mention different settlers whose civilization has left its mark significant historical. This is what makes this kitchen is so rich and varied.

Q: Why do you work for the registration of Moroccan cuisine to intangible cultural heritage of humanity to the UNESCO?

The idea of wanting to enter the Moroccan cuisine Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco is dictated by the fact that this knowledge is an ancient culture to be protected. At a time when our kitchen is affirmed in confrontation with globalization and standardization. At a time when we are working voluntarily for the registration of Moroccan cuisine in the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with UNESCO, the flavors of Morocco and healthy distinguished ... Arabic, Berber, Andalusian, Jewish people are the future ... among the cuisines of the world. For the great classics of the Moroccan cuisine are neglected to grant merit dishes ignored by tourists and uninitiated. Praise and good marks are awarded to local products and dates that particularly incenses and make you want to enjoy their uniqueness.

It is therefore important to include intangible heritage in order not to lose or to counterfeit or may not be captured. The Moroccan has at all levels of the hierarchy socioeconomic, political, scientific, cultural, start looking at food as a factor in development, especially tourism. It is a bearer of wealth and thus create jobs and also a way to release an ancestral knowledge, rich and varied.

Q: How do you explain that Moroccan cuisine is the cuisine in the world 3rd (location, mixture of civilizations and what is the role of women in this classification?

A: Cultural heritage, craft and art of a country is measured against the opinion of a foreign observer. This is what a consumer usually judge a product and makes the comparison with others. This is how our food is judged, evaluated and classified. It has its fame due to its diversity, its variety of products that make a mosaic of flat, similar to an array of art, the artist has managed to combine the tastes and colors. And so at fairs and competitions held here in our cooking is consistently ranked among the top five food in the world, namely the French, Asian, Italian, Thai. The quality and variety of fresh produce are often motivated this ranking, and the genius of women cook with finesse and diplomacy have exceeded the boundaries. Civilizations that succeeded in the kingdom and the various dynasties experienced by the country over the time have influenced many national culinary know-how and gave a special character, because of its flavor, its presentation, its constitution.

Something that also motivated her worldwide fame. Moreover, the Moroccan culinary art is much older than other Western cuisines, as it existed in medieval times while the French has developed only during the time of rebirth. Its diversity, its wealth lie in the multitude of influences it has undergone: Arab cuisine recipes, some dating back to the era of the Abbasids, the Berber cuisine, especially the couscous, Moorish kitchen for stews, tagines and sweet and sour mix. It also noted little influence of Turkish cuisine, African, Jewish and culinary cultures from South Asia (India ....). All these influences have made a Moroccan culinary art rich and varied heritage. Moroccan cuisine includes the cuisines of all Arab-Muslim world while adding a touch that makes a very different food tastes. Hence its ranking among the top kitchens in the world.

Q: Why does Moroccan cuisine lack a paper trail?

A :  It is true that Moroccan cuisine lack of written records. It was a kitchen transmitted from mother to daughter, linked to an ancestral knowledge. A kitchen of the home. And more often than women who were housewives and artists of this knowledge, were most often illiterate. Also, it must be said that some women keep the information secret, lest other imitate. Cooks large houses, hobby horses, in turn, avoided disclosing their techniques to others, not to lose their jobs. Laborious writing of this essay is first documentary. She brings a lot to culinary literature still in its infancy, as very few books exist on this subject, except that cookbooks copied left and right. Two books have been written about it on the kitchen Morocco-Andalusia. The first book is a stranger to the Almohad period to 13 s AD, as the AT-KITAB TABIKH, the second is the one that was written by Ibn Razin in 1265 AD, under the title Al-Fudalat Khiwam- Fi-At-Taybat taam. The rest of the writings are nothing but poems stories ... ....

Q: Explain why Moroccan cuisine is an ancient art, handed down from generation to generation and from mother to daughter?

A : Moroccan cuisine has existed for two centuries. In medieval times was known to the track kitchen. It is because it is ancestral knowledge that is centuries old. We consider the kitchen: Berber, Arab, Muslim, Jewish, Mediterranean, African, Turkish .... This kitchen has evolved over time as it is different from region to region. Our ancestors were marked by their footsteps, in the same way as painting, sculpture, architecture, crafts, tradition, belief. Our great grandmothers were able to systematically transmit to their daughters. And thus keep the traces of these old kitchens today (from the Berbers until the time of Arab Muslims, who have mingled with that of Andalusia .... Etc. This culinary art is transmitted from generation to generation through the mothers that ensure the transition and deliver the secret to their daughters.
The food is festive collective of both a spiritual offering and a social pleasure, because eating is a purely social, cultural ...

Q: Why is the kitchen a heritage identity? How to save it?

A : Acts like social, cultural, civilizational, ... ... the kitchen is a heritage identity that reflects ancestral know-how which our great grandmothers gave a very special character, and that different regions, ages, beliefs, occasions (celebrations: weddings, circumcision, engagement, religious holidays ... ...). This heritage dates back to a remote period, more than two thousand years (since medieval times). This cuisine so diverse, is different from other of its appearance, its taste, its components. How it is done in families, in the regions, depending on the availability of agricultural products, gives it a unique character. The culinary art is the image of our civilization, is the symbol of our identity. It's also because it is identifiable in our customs, our traditions, it is considered heritage identity. It is also a form of collective expression, societal, dedicated entirely to the question of identity in its different forms of expression (colors, tastes, flavors, equipment and products used. It combines tradition, knowledge, beliefs, and circumstances. It is subject to extensive and varied themes. It is with justice and fairness that Dadas occupy an honored place in that heritage. Our mothers took to the kitchen to keep our love.

Q: What are the typical cuisines of each region of Morocco? (Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes, Ouarzazate ... ...).

A: Hence was born the name couscous, tagine, pastilla ... .... ?
We do not consume a particular product because it is good, delicious, but because our family and especially our mother taught us to find good. It is a culture treated from birth according to the criteria of socio-cultural society which was itself high in terms of size and culture, which in terms of gastronomy where the fact that everyone learns his first language and special taste preferences.

This explains our commitment not only natural in the kitchen of our mother, but in the kitchen area, the country where we were born and where we grew up as we like the dialect of our childhood. Basically, the regional cuisines are also the dialect of gastronomy.

Therefore the specialties of each of our provinces are endless and expensive. They reflect their individuality, their uniqueness and their specific socio-cultural they are proud.
Regions of the great food are actually those that housed the dynasties, royal palaces, the imperial cities and the imperial cities, the houses of great families, called El Makhzen Dior, for those there was good food.

Cuisine de Fès: Pastillas, tagines, Marrakesh: Couscous, harira,
Couscous is of Berber origin, popular in many countries. Strictly couscous is the seed obtained by the agglomeration of the semolina.

Q : Tell us about the tanjia marrakchia, this dish prepared exclusively by men for men.

A: Tanjia the dish must Marrakech and is for Marrakchis, which is the Alsatian sauerkraut for. According to some legends, this dish originated in Taroudant, as Marrakchia Dakka, but nevertheless, she developed and maintained by the people of Marrakech that have made them legendary and favorite dish. This preparation is made by men and are for men. It is prepared in a jar where you put a mixture of meat, veal shank, or piece of lamb, crushed garlic, lemon rind confit, January amber powder, ground cumin, the black pepper, turmeric, saffron sheets (Zaafran hour), ras el hanout, Smen hilum and olive. This preparation is originally prepared by Maallem, who bury the ashes in the oven or in the neighborhood of Farnatchi (Maue bath) overnight. It is usually eaten in the morning.

Q:  Tell us what Moroccan cuisine is a science with its nutritional value, its prohibitions, standards ...

A: It should be noted that the existing literature on nutrition in Morocco, the Arab Andalusian period, are those that deal with the relationship of food to health, so with medicine. Moroccan cuisine is much more made with a blend of seasonings, spices and natural products that doctors usually advise patients as to the plan.
If the food is related to everything that is related to the maintenance of the body and maintaining it in good shape, because it falls within the area of science, politics and culture. This is a political tool of affirmation of cultural identities.
The pleasure of taste and smell, as the fundamental basis of knowledge gourmet is the essential element in defining the mode of preparation, choice of ingredients and seasonings. This is also what makes the difference between the cuisines, from region to region.
When you think of the culinary arts, it's not just fun, depending on the theorist, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), author of the philosophy of taste (1826), "but it is coming to a Knowledge and understanding of all that relates to the man as he eats. " From this simple definition one can conclude that the food gives the food aun center of interest.

Billat Savarin, wanted, by cause and effect, making cooking an exact science. It was based on a very thorough analysis of the mechanics of the taste, leanness and obesity student, the influx of diet on rest, fasting, exhaustion and death .

Q: How do you explain that the kitchen is first a purely agricultural undergoes several transformations to become an art?

A: The study of food leads to a complex and interdisciplinary knowledge, as it is of interest to get involved in "everything that relates to man as it feeds," which requires knowledge in many fields such as agriculture, economics, food, chemical, health, sociology, anthropology, ecology, medicine, technological knowledge, traditional and modern.

The food deserves, for this purpose, as indispensable means for the maintenance, repair of the human body, particular attention and priority at the center of government policy, because as shown by a Kentucky farmer Wendelt Berry "eat is an agricultural act "
So if eating is the act agriculture, it is important to be interested in, all levels: from the cultivation of healthy agricultural products, their marketing, processing, preservation, manufacturing , etc ... .... This requires a high culture, knowledge of art, advanced technologies to prevent any trouble, especially in our time, where pollution has raged on in all areas.

Conservation and preservation of health human capital, ensuring any development is in part dependent on the development of a healthy diet, rich, organic. Hence the kitchen should really be considered an exact science that deals with all matters related to health, and maintaining the organization of these players in the social economy of a nation.

Food, as a science, is not an isolated discipline, but it is in close liaison with all branches vital because it draws its ingredients and condiments. Talking cooking is spoken of Agriculture, Livestock, civilizations, traditions, religions, medicine, industry, training and education, crafts, and the list goes on.

It is true that the kitchen is primarily an agricultural act, because without this abundance of agricultural products, Moroccan cuisine is poor and limited. And therefore, regions where agriculture is blooming A wide variety of dishes. The food is rich and scalable. These are also agricultural products, once transformed with finesse and tasteful giving what is commonly called gastronomy. Finally, it must be said that one can not imagine cooking without a developed agriculture also developed.

Q: Why do you think cooking is a purely cultural and civilizational? (Just like painting, music or architecture)

A : In our view, tourism is not the art of extracting the maximum foreign money in the shortest possible time. It is the art of entertaining a guest in the traditional Moroccan and we ensure it is respected, as far as possible in the era of mass tourism. "From the book" The Challenge "(Fire MEST SA KING HASSAN II)

How good food is made, does not differ from that which is crafted an array of art, or the way a symphony is composed, for the tastes and flavors are the result of a mixture of products and condiments with with taste and skill. Behind all this there is a skilful hand, an innovative spirit.
More than an act nutritious eating is a socio-cultural act. Eat well, be concerned to eat well and drink well is the culture, just like the taste of the fine selection of books, beautiful pictures ... good food is an act of gratitude for all that God has given us good , delicious, it's the ultimate rite of conviviality, the well-being and openness to horizons and loved the most distant.

Q: Moroccan women are equipped with real culinary know-how, how do you explain it?

A : The traditional Moroccan cuisine is made with taste and love. This kitchen is recorded and synchronized by the use of spices and condiments that are a means of sensuality. The secret to the success of this culinary art is the ancestral mix and a clever mix of spices. This secret is transmitted from mother to daughter very closely, as each tries to distinguish from each other by presenting a different dish, and delicious. That's what makes it a rich and varied cuisine from region to region. Women are, are each a secret spice blends to give a unique touch to personal and regional cuisine. The genius of the woman gives these blends of spices and condiments exacerbate the flavor of dishes and give them a special note. The woman is with a real culinary finesse and expertise to enable it to amaze the guests.

A Tradition of Women

In Morocco, the kitchen is almost exclusively the domain of women. Except for the preparation and barbecue skewers, men are rarely in the kitchen.

Women reproduce the actions of their mothers and grandmothers. They generally ignore cookbooks and precise dosages. Also, if the Moroccan cuisine is simple, its variations are endless.

Q: Who are the Dadas and how to preserve their ancestral knowledge?*


A : The Dadas, black women from Sudan. These cookers are great dexterity that they were cooking in the great houses and palaces of kings and sultans who succeeded to the throne. They also did the cooking in the great pasha (Laglaoui, kaid Layadi, Bacha Boujamma, .... For the preservation of knowledge, t is important to get them to talk to extract information and information

Q: Why you are interested in Moroccan cooking? Do you keep a special memory from the kitchen of your mother, sister ...?

A : Since I was a child to college, my friends were loading me in the kitchen during peak lunch that we organize. At home I used to eat my brothers, my mother's sin was absent or sick.
I keep of course memories of my mother's cooking from my family, while still

Q: You are at the head of a hotel school, is what you think that young girls today have realized the importance of mastering the culinary art of their country?

A : You know, cooking is what the Moroccan or other countries, is a culture that must be part of morals. Young people must be confident with their families already in this direction. The family is required to teach their children cultural knowledge and behavior, which would enable them to safeguard the national identity. Authenticity depends on it. And so, girls who received this culture in the family are aware of the importance of this heritage and seek to be perfected and master it.

Q : What is the profile of these young students?

A : Young people who come to follow the hotel and tourism training in this school have a baccalaureate level, and the diploma they receive the output is a technical diploma.

Q: Moroccan girls of today produce the same pattern inherited from their mothers?

A: For those from families where the basics of this cuisine are well respected and implemented, it is clear that they continue to produce and want to improve. The cooking is like any art, be it love or you do not like it. If we like we do everything to achieve good results. Therefore I can say that most girls just want to show that they know a few things.

Q: Do they live in the continuity of the transmission or rupture?

A : As I pointed out, for those who love art and whose mothers are good artists, they continue to receive the best culture which is done by transmission. God thank you, we still have families who are committed to the art and do it with love and with great finesse.