A comprehensive database of Macanese cuisine has been released in what is a major milestone in Macao’s development as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. IFTM has been closely involved in the project, with a corner in the IFTM Library now home to a themed display on Macanese gastronomy.
The Macanese Cuisine Database is available to all online at www.gastronomy.gov.mo. The website was officially launched by Macao Government Tourism Office on 24 November, and is a collaboration with IFTM, the Macao SAR Government Cultural Affairs Bureau and the International Institute of Macau.
The database includes 26 books and publications about Macanese cuisine, 19 manuscripts and 297 recipes that were collected in a worldwide search. The gastronomy website currently features 8 videos that will be expanded as MGTO partners with the community, and tourism and hospitality operators to create and launch more content that presents the culinary arts and culture of Macanese cuisine.
The themed corner on Macanese cuisine and culture at the IFTM Library was unveiled as the database was launched. The physical display will help educate, preserve and promote the city’s distinctive food culture.
Among the resources available to the public at the library are original copies of books about Macanese cuisine. “We will keep adding titles to the collection and further expand it to history of Macanese cuisine,” says IFTM Library Head, Ms. Carmen Lei Ka Man. She says the objective is to build a comprehensive collection of resources on Macanese cuisine
These initiatives form part of IFTM’s wider efforts to help increase awareness of Macanese cuisine among consumers and industry. The Institute is meeting that objective by offering Macanese cuisine training courses, hosting cooking demonstrations and competitions, and serving an array of Macanese dishes at the IFTM Educational Restaurant.
Back in 2010, IFTM and Confraria da Gastronomia Macaense – an organisation that promotes Macanese cuisine – signed a cooperation agreement to join efforts to take the cuisine to a wider audience.
IFTM’s bachelor degree programmes make a point of including Macanese cuisine. Students learn about the origins, preparation and characteristics of the food and the culture that lies behind it.
Mix of influences
Macanese cuisine is part of Macao’s official intangible cultural heritage list. The word “Macanese” refers to Macao’s Eurasian population; the city’s people with ancestral ties to Portugal, or the country’s former colonial outposts, such as Goa and Malacca, and Mainland China.
The Macanese have a distinct social and cultural identity, cuisine and creole language called Patuá. Over the centuries, Macanese cuisine blended Southern Chinese and Portuguese flavours with exotic new ingredients brought by Portuguese sailors. The result is a mix of influences from Europe, Latin America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia and China.
In November 2017, Macao became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of gastronomy, with Macanese food – often dubbed as the “world’s first fusion gastronomy” – playing a role in UNESCO’s decision.
The Macao SAR Government has repeatedly stressed the importance of Macanese cuisine in the city’s unique gastronomic culture, and in the development of a sustainable tourism industry, as Macao works to transform itself into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
