Description :
This episode of Radio País is part of the Tramontana Network, a European cooperation project co-funded by the European Union, dedicated to preserving, documenting and sharing the cultural heritage and oral memory of Europe’s mountain and rural communities. Through conversations with researchers, local residents and cultural actors, the series explores traditional knowledge and everyday practices that have shaped these territories.
In this programme, ethnologist Ariane Bruneton recalls her arrival in Béarn in 1972 after working at the FAO in Rome, where she had specialised in the study of food habits. Invited to conduct research on eating practices in Béarn and the Basque Country, she describes the challenges of fieldwork, the limitations of the survey methods used at the time, and the importance of speaking with women, who were the main keepers of culinary knowledge within rural households. She also reflects on her own decision to settle in the region, inspired by the post-1968 movement towards rural life.
The conversation offers a rich portrait of everyday food culture in rural Béarn and the Basque Country during the early 1970s. Bruneton explains how family diets were closely linked to self-production, seasonal availability and local resources, with little reliance on purchased food. She discusses meal patterns, traditional dishes, local cheeses, desserts and customs surrounding the table, while also challenging common stereotypes about family organisation and women’s roles. The interview highlights how ethnographic research helps preserve the memory of changing rural lifestyles and culinary traditions.