Why has Ivory Coast’s national dish attieke become a global icon?

UN cultural agency UNESCO recognises the fermented cassava meal that takes days to prepare as a living heritage object.

Rumour has it that some Ivorians can eat attieke morning, afternoon and night.

The fermented cassava meal has long been a marker of national identity in Ivory Coast, beloved across all levels of society in the West African nation. And now, the United Nations has secured attieke’s status as one of the region’s most important servings.

In December, UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) recognised attieke’s icon status by listing the dish as an intangible cultural heritage. That move elevates the tangy meal to the status of other globally renowned culinary favourites like South Korean kimchi and Mexican tacos.

For Ivorian women who’ve prepared the dish in vast amounts for sale, and who have passed down the intensive cooking skill over generations, attieke is also a way to bond and a path to financial freedom.

Pronounced “at-chie-kay”, the meal is sometimes called Ivorian couscous and has been marketed by some as a gluten-free alternative to regular couscous.