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Cooking in a Man's World: A Visit to an All-Male Basque Cooking Club
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18835 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
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11 / 1999 |
2,292 Words |
| Author
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Laura Kumin
A transplanted American, Laura Kumin is dance adviser for
Madrid's Regional Cultural Council and free-lance dance writer. |
Few cultures understand the deep-down meaning of food for the spirit as the Spaniards do. While all of Spain's various national cuisines reflect the immense pleasure derived from sharing a meal, the close relationship between cuisine and camaraderie is best illustrated in the txokos (pronounced "chokos"), a Basque urban institution that tourists rarely have the opportunity to experience. These traditional gastronomic associations form an important part of the social life of many Basque men.
Historians link the origin of these bastions of male fellowship, based on the uninhibited pleasure of preparing and sharing good food, to the increase in prices at the popular cider shops in the province of Guipzcoa during the mid-nineteenth century. In protest the men bought bottles of cider on their own and shared them at a local shop or in someone's cellar. They soon discovered the advantage of pooling their resources to rent or build a place of their own, open only to members, who could then stay as long as they liked without having to keep buying fresh drinks throughout the evening. Tidbits prepared to accompany drinks eventually became more substantial, and the first sociedad gastronmica was founded in San Sebastan toward the middle of the last century. Others soon followed in its footsteps in Guipzcoa and later in other Basque provinces.
The men-only policy of the txokos probably has its roots in these origins, since at the time it was not considered seemly for women to drink, and domestic economy traditionally reserved such luxuries for the family breadwinner. It has also been commented (by men, it should be pointed out) that Basque society has always been strongly matriarchal and that the txokos provide an outlet for men away from the
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