Belgium seeks to have potato fries declared cultural heritage (2)

UNAFRI, the national association of fritkot owners, which started the drive, says the unpolished establishments are uniquely Belgian, combining the country's embrace of chaos with a dislike of corporate uniformity.

据悉,此项倡议由比利时油炸食品业者联盟(UNAFRI)发起.他们认为这种"粗放型"的炸薯条是比利时人独特的象征,是该国包容散漫、摈弃集团化统一操作理念结合的产物.

"A cone of potato chips is Belgiumin miniature. What's astounding is that this way of thinking is the same, notwithstanding the different communities and regions," said spokesman Bernard Lefevre.

该联盟的发言人伯纳德·勒菲佛(Bernard Lefevre)说道：一小份薯条是比利时的缩影.我所惊讶的是三个地区的公众能在申遗这个问题上达成一致,而不是各自发声."

Many tourists join the locals in the long queues at popular Brussels fritkots such as Frit Flagey and Maison Antoine.

纷至沓来的游客也不免前往布鲁塞尔的薯条店去凑一把热闹.

"Before I came here, one of the only things I knew about Belgium was that they liked their fries, so I think they are pretty much there already," said Rachael Webb, a visitor from Ottawa, Canada, holding a cone of fries.

一位来自加拿大渥太华的游客告诉记者："来到这里之前,我唯一知道的就是比利时人很热爱他们的炸薯条,仅凭这一点,我已经觉得他们做得相当好了."在接受采访时,这位游客手中还拿着刚买到的炸薯条.

UNESCO has a list of 314 items of intangible cultural heritage worthy of preservation, ranging from Turkish coffee to the polyphonic singing of the Aka pygmies of the Central African Republic.

目前,被联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）列入值得保护的非物质文化遗产的有314项,包括土耳其咖啡和来自中非共和国阿卡族（Aka）矮人的复调唱法等等.

Potatoes reached Belgiumin the 16th century, but it was not until the 19th century that they were widely sold chipped and fried as a meal in themselves. UNAFRI says 95 percent of Belgians visit a fritkot at least once a year.

据了解,马铃薯于16世纪传入比利时,但炸薯条开始广为贩卖,并成为桌上佳肴就到了19世纪.比利时油炸食品业者联盟介绍,95%的比利时人每年至少要光顾薯条店一次.