Pitte

Mr. Pitte sees it as a grand culinary center where people can learn about foods from around the world through exhibitions, seminars, market stands and tastings.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

To start raising money for the project, Mr. Pitte hosted a giant meal.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

Mr. Pitte hopes to settle on a home for the culinary center by the end of the year.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

Currently Mr. Pitte is eyeing a monumental palace on Paris's Place de la Concorde, the Hotel de la Marine, which the government is going to rent out in three years.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

"It would be good for the state to help us but it doesn't have much money," said Jean-Robert Pitte , an academic who spearheaded the French bid to the United Nations body for education, science and culture.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

Mr. Pitte joked that his edifice to eating would be appropriate in the former king's residence, where Louis XIV endorsed 75 cookbooks "which made cooking an art form, alongside painting, sculpture, gardening and music."

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

Mr. Pitte said during a speech to the packed hall.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

As a result, Mr. Pitte asked Unesco to recognize the "French meal."

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

The codes of the French meal are just a small part of the universe Mr. Pitte wants to squeeze into the Cite de la Gastronomie.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011

Awarding the Hotel de la Marine to the project at cost, instead of leasing the building to a more commercial venture which would generate bigger profits for the government, could be a way for the state to contribute without giving money, Mr. Pitte says.

Altar to French Cuisine Hungers for Aid Christina Passariello 2011