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Paper short abstract

Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Chefchaouen, this paper aims to discuss the processes and discourses mobilized in the requalification of bissara - a broad bean soup - as a strongly traditional food practice, and its consequent transformation into a Mediterranean Diet merchandise

Paper long abstract

The classification of the Mediterranean Diet as intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO (2010, 2013) initiated, in the territories that served as representative cities for the submitted application, a need to identify and select food products and practices that correspond to the expectations created - locally and nationally - either by the heritage classification itself or by its potential as an additional tourist resource in terms of food and cuisine.

Thus, in localities such as Chefchaouen - the representative city of the Mediterranean Diet in Morocco - we witness the recreation of dishes and recipes perceived as traditional and synonymous with regional identity, in order to be used as a tourist resource in the context of practices and knowledges associated locally with the Mediterranean Diet.

One of the most effectively mobilized food resources has been bissara - a thick soup made from dried broad beans and olive oil. In addition to its transnational dimension - bissara is mainly consumed in Egypt and Palestine - this dish is commonly associated with food scarcity and famine because it is highly protein and made with a small number of ingredients.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Chefchaouen, this paper aims to discuss the processes and discourses mobilized in the requalification of bissara as a strongly identitarian and traditional food practice - and its consequent transformation into a Mediterranean Diet merchandise - as well as the way that its consumption history associated with periods of famine and scarcity is (or not) mobilized into the tourist and heritage arena.