A presentation for Romania National Authority for Tourism, in the context of the International Conference of Culinary Traditions (2014)

1. Tiberiu CAZACIOC

2. 
• Coordinators: Ms. Monica STROE, Mr. Bogdan IANCU
• Partners in research: Association “Ivan Patzachin-Mila 23”,
National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA)
• Co-financing: Administration of National Cultural Fund, public
budget (AFCN)
• Field researchers: students Master of Anthropology 2013,
Sabina Basiul, Cătălin Buzoianu, Cristian Chiriță, Alexandra
Dincă, Ioana Jelea, Ștefan Lipan, Andrei Mihail, Mădălina
Muscă, Ileana Szasz, Elena Trifan, Sebastian Țoc, Bogdan Vetu
• Area of research: Mila 23, Chilia Veche, Sfântul Gheorghe
(Danube Delta Nature Reserve)
“Dinner with people from Delta – A cartography of
gastronomy practices in Danube Delta”

3. 
1) Geography of gastronomy of Danube Delta
2) Heritage recovered
3) Narrated dishes receipts
4) Gastronomy, tourism and fishing. Recent
developments
Annexes
Contents of research

4. 
“Looking into a plate, this is the crystal globe of the
anthropologist” (prof. Vintilă Mihăilescu)
http://deltagastronomia.wordpress.com/

5. 
Elements
Procurement, cooking and food serving in Danube
Delta
Methodological approach
- collecting/archiving of local heritage elements
- research of the cooking habits, on celebrations,
occasional and routine daily/familial
Questions
- which are the resources used in the kitchen
- where they get those and how they procure
them
- which is the specific knowledge nedeed to
prepare dishes
- how this knowledge was transmitted
- influence of social restrictions

6. 
Delta Dunării
• Delta Dunării (3446 km²), aflată în
mare parte în Dobrogea, România, și
parțial în Ucraina, este a doua ca
mărime și cea mai bine conservată
dintre deltele europene. Delta Dunării a
intrat în patrimoniul mondial al UNESCO
în 1991, rezervație a biosferei la nivel
național în România, parc național în
taxonomia internațională a IUCN;
• Densitatea medie este de 5
locuitori/km2;
• În 2002, 14.583 locuitori, dintre care
87% români, 13% minorități, respectiv
1439 ruşi lipoveni, ucraineni, etc.

7. 
• “People are feeding not only with proteins, fats, hydorcarbs, but also
with symbols, myths, dreams”;
• “In a globalised world “local ethnography” cannot exist’;
• “Lack of an agricultural model for Danube Delta, a fisheries model,
coherent and consistent”;
• “Danube Delta people did not find their place in the actual system”;
• “Negative ecological spyral, restrictions have generated illegal
behaviour, which born other restrictions and then further profound
illicit behaviour”;
• “More and more accomodations are abandoning old traditional
recipes/dishes”;
• “Authentic and creole: filled fish recipe comes from the Jewish
tradition, related with Shabbat, in yiddish the dish is Gefilte fisch”.
“Food and society in Danube Delta”,
prof. Vintilă Mihăilescu

8. 
Fish: area of living makes
them different
Plătica, flat-fish; Calcan, turbot; Biban, perch; Caras, crucian; Sturion,
sturgeon; Somn, catfish; Ştiucă, pike

9. 
Ciulinii de Deltă
(a.k.a. water chestnuts)
Chestnut, break the fruit, take the inside, boil, eat

10. 
Trapa Natans
(a.k.a. water chestnut)

11. 
Adapted dish/receipts
“We offer to tourists different dish (of the traditional dish)…”
“Many tourists order soup like in Bucharest…..”

12. 
• Ecotourism is a sort of tourism whose main aim is
observation and awarenness about nature value and of
local traditions and which must fulfill the following
conditions:
a) to contribute to conservation and protection of nature;
b) to employ, use local human resources;
c) to have educational character, to instill respect for nature-
create tourist awareness and of local communities;
d) to have the lowest negative impact upon the natural and socio-
cultural environment.
Ecotourism

13. 
Tourism policy developement:
ecotourism

14. 
• Ecotourist destination is the tourist destination which besides
the classical criteria, implements also following principles:
• projects a marketing profile of a responsible destination;
• in the destination prevail bussinesses which are managed
sustainable;
• at the level of destination there is a real support for the local
communities;
• at the level of destination, actions are taken targeting tourist and
local people for their awareness and information about the
nature’ importance and its characteristics;
• at the level of destination practical actions are taken for the
conservation of nature.
Ecotourist destinations

15. 
• 0.3. Minimal level of tourist services
•0.3.5 Existence of tourist accomodation with restauration functions,
with preference for menus based on local produce and if possible
obtained from ecological agriculture
• B.3 Local economy
•B.3.1 There is a programme of support for traditional, local and/or
ecological good producers and service providers
•B.3.3 There are initiatives of support of quality traditional products
and services of local origin and provision, and/or ecological
• B.4 Use of local products and services in tourism
•B.4.1 At the level of destination it is promoted the use of local
products in tourist activities.
Excerpt of relevant accreditation
rules for ecotourist destinations

16. 
Gastronomy
Family
agriculture, susta
inable agriculture
and local
resources
People
Nature and
biodiversity
Sustainable development
Ecotourism

17. 
• Film: “Dinner with people from
Danube Delta”, 3’45”
• Film: “Soup (borsch) of fish in
gestures and images”, 2’34”
• Film: “Frogs”, 6’55”
Traditions in Danube Delta

18. 
slow tourism: stay longer in nature,
consume more local resources, food
and traditions

19. 
slow food: home cooking, family
traditions, local resources

20. 
• Site project http://deltagastronomia.wordpress.com/
• National Authority for Tourism http://turism.gov.ro
• Association “Ivan Patzaichin-Mila 23”
http://www.rowmania.ro
• Association for Ecoutourism in Romania http://www.eco-
romania.ro
• Centre for Ecotourism Crisan Rowmania
http://www.turismlent.ro
• Slow Food: http://www.slowfood.com
Resources

21. Tiberiu CAZACIOC