protected and promoted. Thus, according to the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness, gastronomic tourism is “a type of tourism activity characterized by the fact that the visitor’s travel experience is linked to food and related products and activities. In addition to authentic, traditional, or innovative gastronomic experiences, gastronomic tourism can also involve other related activities such as visiting local producers, participating in gastronomic festivals, and attending cooking classes 4. “ I’m not referring to the fact that tourists eat during their trip, but rather that gastronomy decisively influences the decision to travel and choose a specific destination. This is gastronomic tourism as defined by the UNWTO and the Basque Country. Culinary Center in the “Guide for the development of gastronomic tourism” 5. 2.1. Origins of gastronomy: cooking as a characteristic of human beings Eating is not unusual; all animals do it, and it’s a physiological need, that is, a primary need, essential for survival. However, the transformation of food into something else—that is, cooking or adapting a particular food to make it fit for human consumption, or more palatable—is unique to our species. The idea of cooking is also closely linked to the emergence of fire. “Familiarity with fire certainly established the objective conditions for the discovery of cooking, so crucial in evolution that it marks the boundary between the heterotrophic animal (the common animal) and the singular autotrophic animal, which already prepares its food 6.” Consequently, the evolution of cooking and gastronomy are intimately linked to that of humankind. Cooking and gastronomy are a feature of cultural identity, an element of civilization, in short, something inextricably linked to human development. In this sense, gastronomy can be considered “the set of tangible and intangible elements related to the knowledge of everything related to cooking and the art of preparing, presenting, enjoying, and appreciating culinary products and beverages 7”. 4 This can be read on the website https://www.unwto.org/es/gastronomia-turismo-enologico , last consulted on March 8, 2025. 5 WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION AND BASQUE CULINARY CENTER (2019), “Guide for the development of gastronomic tourism”, p. 8. 6 CORDÓN, F. (1980), Cocinar hizo al hombre, Los 5 sentidos, [CORDÓN, F. (1980), Cooking made man, The 5 senses, p. 85]. 7 ROBERT GUILLÉN, S., (2017), Alta cocina y derecho de autor, op. cit., p. 18. 4 ALEJANDRO CORRAL SASTRE
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==