Africa-Press – Cape verde. The creation of a master’s degree on Cape Verdean gastronomy, in order to provide scientific knowledge to an important sector of Cape Verdean identity, was suggested during the presentation, this Monday, 12th, at Grémio Literário, in Lisbon, of the book “ History, Tradition and New Flavors of Cape Verde Cuisine”, by Maria de Lourdes Chantre.
In front of a full audience, and to the sound of the morna, Filinto Elísio, responsible for the editorial Rosa de Porcelana, spoke of the work as a “treaty” for the anthropological-cultural collection and the geographic crossing of peoples, through food, recalling the importance of cachupa becoming a World Heritage Site, as a unifying element for Cape Verdeans, in all corners of the world.
Professor Alice Matos analyzed in depth and length, not only this sixth book by the first Cape Verdean gastronome, but also addressed all of her work, which is not limited to cooking, but also involves the art of serving and receiving well and the contribution of the knowledge of many Cape Verdean women.
Communicate through food
Journalist Otília Leitão, who worked and lived in Cape Verde, having here deepened her knowledge of the cultural values of this country, considered in her presentation that Maria de Lourdes Chantre, whom she met in 2005, “knew how to serve Cape Verde by communicating through food in a interweaving a fine mesh with the conviviality of writers, painters, poets, potters, artisans and drinking from popular expressions of traditional festivities”.
It was no coincidence that the first President of the Republic, Aristides Pereira, when writing the first book “Cozinha de Cabo Verde”, sent him a letter, which appears in this recent work, in which he considered the work of Maria de Lourdes Chantre as a contribution identity of national affirmation.
More than seven years research
Otília Leitão mentioned that the legacy of Maria de Lourdes Chantre, material and immaterial, due to the soul and passion that the author imprints in her research work, makes it possible for the University of Cape Verde to propose an honorary doctorate to the gastronome . The research for this new book took over seven years and is contained in over a thousand pages.
The journalist who discovered the author and the woman through conversations, document analysis, observation of the objects, photos and paintings on display in her home, considered the institution of a gastronomy award with her name to be stimulating for current and future generations of gastronomists. . Maria de Lourdes Chantre, aged 93, is also an integral part of history, she said.
national appreciation
Also with regard to the master’s degree in gastronomy, which exists in several countries, including Portugal, Otília Leitão considered that gastronomy constitutes a vast field of national appreciation and that a master’s degree allows for the scientific study and deepening of a sector that greatly enhances Cape Verde.
At the end, a “Cape Verdean punch” was served, accompanied by tuna pastries, coconut and banana sweets and mancarra cartridges, with the imprint of the pano di terra.
Maria de Lourdes Chantre, who thanked, very moved, was also honored last Saturday by the prestigious and historic Cabo Verdean Association of Lisbon, which gave the main living room its name.
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