Minister Diependaele wants to protect iconic chip shops

The fries culture, both the craft of baking fries and the entire fries experience that goes with it, has been recognized as intangible heritage. There is no municipality in Flanders where there is no chip shop. Frietkots help determine the streetscape of our villages and towns. That is why Flemish Minister of Immovable Heritage Matthias Diependaele wants to protect the most authentic chip shops. “The Fleming is devoted to his chip shop. How many families don’t have a fixed weekday on which they get fries from the chip shop? It is a living tradition in Flanders,” says Minister Diependaele. “Nevertheless, we regularly read in the media that another chip shop is disappearing. I therefore think it is logical that, in addition to churches and castles, we also protect some of the most typical chip shops.”

According to the federation of chip shops Navefri, of the more than 4,500 chip shops in our country, there are just under a thousand separate chip shops. But that is becoming less and less. Every municipality has a chip shop that had to make way for a redevelopment of a square or has disappeared for some other reason. So it’s high time to save some of these typical fries for the future.

Support from local authorities

The Onroerend Erfgoed agency will investigate which historical chip shops qualify for protection as a monument. Minister Diependaele calls on the help of the local authorities for this: “I want to actively involve the Flemish local authorities in order to map out the most historic chip shops. It is of course not the intention to protect everything. We only choose the real gems. I do want to put together a nice sample for future generations, I assume that we will eventually protect five deep-frying facilities.”

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Both the free-standing chip barrack and the indoor chip shop are eligible. The historic chip shop must have some tradition and must have been operated since 1985 or earlier. Local authorities can submit their proposals for protection to the Immovable Heritage agency until June 18. It will start working with the entries and at the end of October will present a selection of historical chip shops for which a protection procedure can be started. It is important that friturists are not hindered by the protection and can continue to bake delicious fries. That is why the sector is closely involved in this research.