FOOD:

The humble lamington may be the next candidate to be listed on the United Nations’ cultural heritage list but only if an argument about its origins can be settled.

The UN’s Paris-based heritage body, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), this week announced the listing of France’s popular and centuries old breadstick, the baguette, on the official intangible cultural heritage list.

Lobbying by the Albanese Government to list the lamington has sparked disagreement within UNESCO about the popular small cake.

To date it has been accepted that the first lamington was made in Brisbane in the late 19^th century when the French chef of then colonial Queensland Governor Lord Lamington needed to feed unexpected guests and could find only some left-over vanilla sponge cake and dipped slices of it in chocolate then rolled them in coconut.

But French food historian, Ethnique Stereotype (below), has for some years claimed the cake originated in France.

M. Stereotype said the identity of the person who first made the cake has been lost over the years.

“But my research shows the cake was  first made in the little village of Amington in the south of France in the early 19th century,” he said.

“It became so popular that it was soon became synonymous with the village, becoming known as l’amington.

“France owns l’amington and Australians should, errr…. how you say? …, fuck off and stop claiming it as their own.”

M. Stereotype said the cake’s recipe had remained unchanged for more than two centuries except for periods of food shortages during two World Wars when the chocolate coating and coconut were substituted with ground up ashes from Gitanes or Gauloises and dandruff.

The office of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would not comment on the status of the UNESCO application.

But former prime minister Scott Morrison revealed he had been encouraged to progress UNESCO listing of the lamington while in office.

“But I rejected the departmental advice and decided that Australia should support listing of the American donut or Britain’s Battenburg cake,” he said.