A bowl of authentic bouillabaisse is not the only reason to visit Marseille. Among the newest is the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (MUCEM) which opened in 2013—a jewel of architectural achievement built within and around the 17th century Fort Saint-Jean with spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea.
But it was the MUCEM’s recent exhibit, “The Grand Mezzé,” that enticed me to stop in Marseille during a recent European trip. The Grand Mezzé explores the history and recognition of the Mediterranean diet through multimedia presentations, art, and artifacts. It also addresses the social significance of the growing worldwide popularity of the diet and its implications for farming practices and the environment.
Clearly recognizing that olive oil is the cornerstone of the Med diet, the curator Eduoard de Laubrie commissioned a work of art made of olive oil for the entrance of the exhibit. Artist Nicolas Boulard created three large panels, each of which is comprised of dozens of long thin glass tubes filled with olive oils from around the Mediterranean. Together they create an artistic interplay between light and color. The three panels hang behind the glass wall of the exhibit, giving the symbolic impression to the visitor that the only way to enter the Mediterranean diet is through olive oil. (Hear, hear!)
The first room of the exhibit includes original source materials around Ancel Keys’ “discovery” of the Mediterranean diet, including video footage of a 1955 news broadcast featuring Keys, an original copy of the “Seven Countries” study published by Harvard University Press in 1980, and a reproduction of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid created by Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust in 1993.
The Grand Mezzé further emphasizes the importance of olive oil through recipe handouts found throughout the exhibit. Although I would have liked to see more focus on the production of olive oil, the MUCEM’s Grand Mezzé makes it abundantly clear that, as expressed in one of the exhibit placards, “Olive oil is the one food that unites the two components of the Mediterranean diet–food and culture.”
Five stars!
