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.