French president calls for stronger protection for souffles

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Monsieur le President is calling for French gastronomy to be added to the list set up by UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. According to M. Sarkozy

"Agriculture and the professions which craft it every day are the source of our country's gastronomic diversity - it is an essential element of our heritage…That is why I want France to be the first country to apply to UNESCO, from 2009, for our gastronomic tradition to be recognised as a world heritage. We have the best gastronomy in the world."

A chef involved in the project, Guy Savoy added:

“You can talk about cuisine in numerous countries around the world …[but France] is the only one to have such diversity and such possibilities for transforming the produce of local artisans, be they on land or sea".

Mexico has already had a similar bid turned down. The verdict on France is expected in 2010.

The IPKat calls on Mr Brown to follow suit. Who knows when those nasty foreigners will take unfair advantage of Great Britain’s gastronomic treasures. The threat to the humble British black pudding should not be sniffed at. More seriously, the IPKat reckons that national cuisines have been exported outside their birthplaces so comprehensively that it’s rather difficult to work out what any country’s cuisine is anymore.