Italian food is more than something you eat.
It’s something you inherit.
In 2023, Italian cuisine received one of the highest cultural honors in the world: official recognition by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This recognition didn’t celebrate a single dish or recipe — it honored an entire way of life.
A way of cooking shaped by tradition, culture, craftsmanship, and love, passed down from generation to generation.
For Italians, this recognition felt deeply personal. Because Italian cuisine has never been about trends. It has always been about continuity.
What UNESCO Recognition Really Means
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list protects traditions that define who we are — things that can’t be replicated or industrialized without losing their soul.
Italian cuisine earned this recognition because it represents:
-
Knowledge passed down through generations
-
Respect for ingredients and seasonality
-
Regional identity and craftsmanship
-
Family, ritual, and shared moments
-
Hands-on techniques preserved over time
Italian food isn’t written in cookbooks first. It’s learned at the table, in the kitchen, by watching, repeating, and honoring what came before. For Italians, this recognition felt deeply personal. Because Italian cuisine has never been about trends. It has always been about continuity.
A Legacy That Lives in Our Biscotti
At True Delicious, this recognition resonates deeply — because it mirrors exactly how our biscotti came to be. Our recipes come from Antonio’s father, a master Italian pastry chef in Italy, who has been baking professionally for over 50 years. The biscotti we make today are not “inspired by” Italian tradition — they come from it.
They were:
-
Learned in Italian bakeries
-
Shared among bakers as a sign of respect
-
Preserved without shortcuts
Just like Italian cuisine itself, these recipes were perfected through time, repetition, and care — not optimization or mass production.
Why Ingredients Matter (and Always Have)
UNESCO didn’t recognize Italian cuisine because it’s complicated. It recognized it because it’s intentional. In Italian kitchens, every ingredient has a reason: from the flour chosen for structure, to the sugar used with balance, never excess and techniques designed to enhance, not mask ingredients.
That philosophy guides everything we bake.
Italian cuisine became the first of its kind to receive this recognition because it proves something powerful: Food is culture. Food is memory. Food is identity.
Every biscotto we bake carries that belief forward — from Italian kitchens, to California, to your home. When you enjoy our biscotti with coffee, tea, or wine, you’re not just tasting a cookie.
You’re sharing in a tradition that UNESCO now recognizes as belonging to the world — but that will always belong first to families.
As we like to say at True Delicious: Grazie to the family and to the generations who taught us that the best food is made with patience, respect, and heart.
