8 Things You Might Not Know About txokos

The so-called txokos, or societies, are private venues where groups of friends get together to cook and enjoy spending time together around the dinner table. They have helped cultivate and preserve the Basque Country's traditional culinary heritage. How much do you know about them?

A txoko is made up of members: there is a president, there is a founding charter, and bylaws that lay down the rules governing their activities. There are no owners; the members all feel the same sense of ownership and it works because it is run on the basis of mutual trust. This motto meant that, back then, craftsmen, doctors, fishermen, lawyers, and merchants alike all shared the same space.

Spending a day in a gastronomic society is about so much more than eating, and no one understands this as well as they do in the Basque Country. It's about sharing and spending time together. They share lunch, but also anecdotes and news: both good and bad.

At the time the societies were established, women were prohibited from entering the premises, let alone being members. Though times have changed, progress is moving at a slow pace, and the issue still rears its head today. In some gastronomic societies, women are still only allowed to enter on specific dates and at set times. In others, women may go into the txoko but not the kitchen. And some societies do open their doors to women, but not as fully fledged members. However, change is unstoppable. In 1998, Aurora Aramburu was the first woman president of a gastronomic society in the Basque Country.

Today, gastronomic societies also exist outside the Basque Country, and not only because of their direct influence on neighboring regions such as Navarre, and cities like Madrid and Barcelona. They also exist in countries like Uruguay and Argentina, where there are large Basque communities. These offshoots keep this culinary legacy alive thousands of miles away.