In 2010, Chefchaouen was nominated, on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, for the ‘Mediterranean diet’. As stated: “Chefchaouen is a model of biodiversity of great environmental importance. The wise management of these resources is reflected by the ‘Mediterranean Diet’, by the close relation, from the landscape to the cuisine, between the people and the land”.

The ‘Mediterranean diet’ is a modern nutritional recommendation, originally inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of Greece, Southern Italy, and Spain. The principal components of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits, and vegetables, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), and low consumption of non-fish meat and non-fish meat products.

On the 4th of December, 2013, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage decided, during a meeting held in Baku (Azerbaijan), to inscribe the Mediterranean Diet on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2013, UNESCO added the Mediterranean diet to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece, Cyprus, and Croatia.

The Chefchaouen Mediterranean diet is part of the tourism region ‘Cap Nord‘ of Morocco.