THE FOOD CRUISE: CULINARY DESIGNATIONS ON BOTH SHORES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Abstract. Since the dawn of time, the Mediterranean basin has established itself as a rich space of exchange: linguistic exchange (like the lingua franca), commercial, cultural … And as any exchange inevitably passes through language, we have chosen to follow the language in his journey from one shore to another to tell the story of the Mediterranean cultural heritage. Our cruise has opened a few doors to the mediterranean culinary world, through names of preparations whose smells and flavors have allowed us to navigate the Mediterranean, with foodies and gourmets, sailors and traders, enthusiasts of trips …

In this trip, we will discover a kitchen with female-dishes. Sometimes, it is erotic dishes that depict the woman, subject and object of seduction. She invests the world of gastronomy, through metaphorical names and becomes the object of culinary desire. Then, we discover women’s dishes that denominate parts of her body typical of the seductive woman: like the breasts (french pastry: the nipples of Queen Margot) and the eyes (tunisian food: the eye of the spanish woman). And even the old woman, whom time has marked and who has lost her charm, finds her place in this wordl (tunisian dishes: the knees of the old woman).

Gastronomy certainly seduces with its flavors and creations, but it can also be a source of humor and jokes. And in this case, it’s the laugh that stimulates the appetite. Just think of names of some tunisian dishes, like the tied up policeman and the ears of the judge. Even in Algeria, we find some examples like the drunken down the stairs and the judge and his companions. And on the french side, we can cite a very funny example: donkey droppings, and many others.

And what is astonishing, through this cruise, is to see that a same preparation can, depending on the cultures and the origins, have very different designations. We think, for example, of this candy that french people calls love apples, and which among Tunisians becomes the ogre’s big stick! Two radically different conceptions of the same referent: each linguistic community looks at it from a different angle.

Keywords: designation, culinary, mediterranean, culture, exchange